


Letters to a Young Scientist

by Xitlalit



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Not Related, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, I sort of have an idea of what i'm doin, M/M, Only Hiro knows they're related, Sorry for the first chapter..., Tadashi is alive just give it a few chapters, What Was I Thinking?, they're gonnna do the do later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:37:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3455951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xitlalit/pseuds/Xitlalit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't supposed to be like this. </p><p>Tadashi wasn't supposed to fall in love with him. </p><p>Time Machine/Alternate Reality AU - (Hiroandashicrap AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Breakdown of Matter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hiroandashicrap](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiroandashicrap/gifts), [hoshi (ladylune)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylune/gifts), [trashyhenli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashyhenli/gifts), [InkStainsOnMyHands](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainsOnMyHands/gifts), [The_Birds_And_Bees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Birds_And_Bees/gifts).



> AU by hiroandashicrap on tumblr
> 
> Where Hiro can’t handle the grief of losing Tadashi and makes a time machine only for it to malfunction or something and he ends up in an alternative reality where Tadashi isn't even related to him and is just some guy at SFIT who his alternative self barely knew. So Hiro tries to get closer to Tadashi because he missed his brother and wants to protect him. So they become good friends and stuff but it KINDA starts getting complicated when Tadashi starts to develop feelings for him..
> 
> I really like writing stories for people. Even if I am shit at grammar. Plus I spend too much time on tumblr. I was inspired by The_Birds_And_Bees story Across the Universe. It's amazing you all should check it out. And as always check out every other author I dedicate these too.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he had found it, Hiro would have ripped the death certificate apart like it was some kind of sick joke. Looking back now, he was glad that he hadn't.

The document fell to the ground slowly. The laws of gravity pulling down anything that fell. The hands that had held the document were shaking, as was the body they were attached to. Feet that were used to hold said body up gave way, and the figure fell to the ground. There he stayed, shocked, dismayed, and far too wounded to try and stand again.

 

Hiro couldn't find the strength to breathe. His heart was clenching far too tightly in his chest for his lungs to have the proper room to function. He was tired and running on adrenaline all at once. He was sure the world was rotating too fast on it's axis, because there was no other way his vision should have been that blurry.

 

Meanwhile his stomach seemed intent on purging itself of everything he had consumed in the past few days. Gummy bears and hot wings be dammed.

 

His mind kept yelling out denials, and his senses were playing tricks on him. He couldn't focus on anything, and he wasn't even sure he was trying too. His face was too hot and yet he was so cold. The only word he could clearly focus on was repeatedly slamming into the sides of his skull, trying to engrave itself inside him like it was on the certified piece of paper.

 

Dead.

 

He was dead.

 

Hiro had just dropped his death certificate.

 

Tadashi Hamada was _dead._

 

As in, gone. Irreplaceable. No more playful banter, no more pranks, jokes, hair ruffles , no more overprotective older brother who would have given up the world to see Hiro happy.

 

If he could have collected himself Hiro would have taken the time to appreciate the fact he was alone in his room. The moment he had left the hospital he hadn't said a word. Sitting in a tense silence in the car, bolting upstairs with a slam of the door the moment they had gotten back. If he hadn't been alone Aunt Cass would have surely caught him. Held him together as he fell apart. But he didn't want it.

 

He didn't want to be held, he didn't want to be touched or pitied because he wasn't stupid. No amount of _“I'm sorry”_ would bring back his brother, and he didn't want empty promises in return. He couldn’t stick words together and make a person.

 

Shakily he pulled himself up from the ground. He felt nauseous, stuck in a drunken stupor. The room was too bright, and the objects within it were beginning to spin. Hiro sat himself down again, slowly, lowering himself onto his bed. The soft weight underneath his hand was disgusting.

 

Clenching the clean sheets he tried to force himself to take in a few good deep breaths. He had to think straight. Panicking would do nothing but make him sick at this point.

 

The thought was easier said than done. His body was completely rejecting any order his mind was trying to send. And that crippling pain in his heart was just getting worse with every passing tick of his alarm clock. The last time he had had such a physically intense reaction was during one of his bot fights. But right now he suffered no physical blows. No, no one had laid a finger on him. So why did he feel like he was being gunned down by undiluted poison?

 

_Why?_

 

Why hadn't he stopped him? Why had he let Tadashi's stupid ugly cardigan slip from his fingers? They only had each other and now-

 

Tadashi wasn't stupid either. The chances of surviving a fire of that size was small, and still he had gone ahead and-!

 

 

 

_Why did Tadashi leave him alone...?_

 

 

 

He couldn't see.

 

His eyes burned when he blinked and warm tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard he rubbed at his skin. His abused eyes only pushed out more sticky, salty tears at the raw treatment adding to his growing frustration and anxiety. Everything in this room was building pressure and pushing his bones against his thumping heart until Hiro couldn't take it anymore.

 

In a blind fury he tore the room apart.

 

Later Aunt Cass would forgive him, later he would feel guilty and embarrassed for his actions but that was later.

 

This was now.

 

Angry, and beyond the point of grief. His dull nails clawed at bed sheets, tearing them off his bed without remorse. Reducing his pillow to nothing but shreds he made his way around the room. The shelves were wiped clear off anything they showcased. Books, papers, photos, bits and pieces of projects and spare parts went flying. Clattering onto the ground with resounding bangs.

 

If he had found it, Hiro would have ripped the death certificate apart like it was some kind of sick joke. Looking back now he was glad that he hadn't.

 

Picking up a fallen microbot, he flung it away like it had burned him. Not quite finished with the bed he kicked and kicked at the mattress until it slipped from its frame.

 

Climbing onto his desk he knocked each action figure down not caring whatsoever about where they landed as long as they fell. Toys, wires, masks, robot designs, everything and anything he could reach with his hands was pulled from its place. His height being the only restriction as to what came down.

 

He whirled around on his heel, yanking down posters and photos that were tacked up on the walls, leaving them bare, and naked in their pale blue. Opening drawers he pulled them out of their slots and turned them over with frantic fingers, dumping all their contents onto the wooden floor to join everything else. Shaking them up and down even when he knew there was nothing left and unceremoniously dropped them where he stood.

 

If he could have, even the floorboards would have experienced his anger. He didn’t know who to blame, where to filter his feelings. In any other situation Tadashi would have followed him up into the room and let Hiro curse and yell all his misplaced anger at him. He always let Hiro push all of his problems onto his shoulders before scooping him up into his strong arms, and he would simply hold him until he stopped thrashing. And he would just let Hiro feel upset, because Tadashi knew how bad he was with expressing his feelings.

 

He especially couldn't handle this. This deep mental anguish that filled him with so much sorrow he wouldn't mind just dropping dead either. He hadn't lost anything like this, yes his parents had died but his only saving grace was that he had been young. He didn't understand it until much later when everyone spoke about their parents and he had no stories to tell. The loneliness had never accumulated because his brother was always there, always loving and always _present._

 

Kicking his desk chair and backpack aside he reached over for his laptop. Tossing it onto the beaten mattress as he looked for more things to break and add to his already naturally messy room.

 

He pulled out everything from it’s electrical outlet, rendering his lamp and electronics useless until he had plunged himself into an artificial darkness.

 

He yanked his clothes off their hangers, spilling them onto the floor until there was a sea of colorful fabric. He cursed the ones that resisted, leaving them lopsided and stretched,  just barely hanging on. He moved on, pausing only when he came face to face with himself in the reflection of his mirror.

 

His chaos reflected behind him. His hair was even more wild than before, tugged and pulled in every direction. His eyes were bloodshot, his irises dilated. He was pale everywhere except his cheeks, which were blazing red. Stained with dry tear tracks that overlapped with the fresh ones currently spilling from his brown eyes. The same dark eyes that had also been Tadashi's.

 

Insulted, with all his strength he shoved the mirror back, irritated with the shattered glass, snarling as it sparkled with the reflection of the sun from the window as though mourning itself.

 

Even when he heard the running of frantic footsteps up the stairs he pressed on. Ignoring the hard knocks and worried calls of his name as he knocked everything off his desk. The computer only stayed because he was far too weak to knock it down alone. The keyboard however stood no chance, ripping it out from it's place, he nearly tripped on the cord as he flung it at the wall beside the door.

 

Looking for anything more Hiro went rigid as he caught sight of his notebook sprawled hazardously on the floor.

 

If he hadn't gone to the stupid showcase...

 

Rushing towards it he fell on his knees probably bruising them as he scrambled for a pencil, pen, anything. Scribbling nothing on the blank pages, simply wanting to express his anger he stabbed the pencil through the pages. Throwing it aside as it snapped under the pressure of his hand as he tore at the pages, days of work and thinking crumbling and ripping. He bit at the binding with his teeth, pulling the cover back until it fell apart in his hands.

 

He didn't know how much time passed, or what else was broken beyond simple repair but it felt like an eternity.

 

Numb.

 

Hiro sat heaving in place, his gasps in time with the erratic pulsing of his blood. There was nothing left to tear apart. Not unless he went over to _his_ side of the room.

 

Tired... So very tired... He curled in on himself his head pounded as it collided on with the cold wooden floor. His back pressed against the divider separating what was once shared.

 

He was done crying. He didn't have any more tears left. It was only then that he realized that his feet were in pain from stepping on his mess, his hands stung from grabbing at everything. It was a miracle he hadn't stepped on glass. Or maybe he had, he didn't really care. Nor could he tell at this point.

 

The knocking became frantic, and when it stopped he knew Aunt Cass had run downstairs for the key to the room.

 

A few feet away from him Hiro caught sight of Tadashi's cap. Turned over and peaking out from the rumpled covers thrown on the floor.

 

Letting out a pathetic huff, he reached out, the tip of his fingers just grazing the front as he used the last of his effort to bring it towards him. Clutching at the hat against his chest, he buried his face in the rough texture imagining himself being held by the only person who he couldn't reach.

 

If Tadashi could see him now, he would have certainly disapproved of what he had just done. He was sure going to get a long lecture from him when he woke up. He would probably force Hiro to clean up most of the mess, but he would help. He always did, the _nerdy saint._

  
The last thing he heard was a click of the lock turning. And the faded image of Aunt Cass's shocked tear stained face as he fell asleep, giving in to his broken heart.


	2. To Challenge a Scientific Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um, this is chapter 2 & 3 conjoined. I'm happier with it this way and it just made sense to me. I'm a bit of a mess right now. And this kind of validates that. Haha... ah..

It's colder than he remembers.

The last time he was was here it wasn't as dark and dreary. The clouds didn't cluster together near the sun threatening to rain. And the grey hued waves didn't raise over the rocks in such harsh motions. Swiping at the landscape of the small island in warning.

 

What Hiro does remember is the twisted conflicting feelings in his heart. The anxious need to get off this ruined island. And the determined bitterness to hurry up and fix the portal.

Sometimes while he’s lying in bed alone he wonders what it would be like if things were different. How much would he be achieving if he wasn’t so obsessed with this. What would he be like if Tadashi was still around? Would he still be bot fighting?

He still has his megabot. It’s somewhere buried under everything he’s kept a hold of since Tadashi’s been gone,

He hasn’t gone bot fighting in a long time, the last time he remembers going was when Yama almost got a hold of him and Tadashi had somehow tracked him down and saved him. Occasionally he’ll feel the urge to go back there onto the shady streets and scam people. But he always goes against it. For reasons he’s not comfortable thinking too hard about.

“Baymax, I need you to keep track of the weather. If it starts raining I’m gonna need you to tell Aunt Cass we’re gonna be late for dinner.” Hiro said nonchalantly, messing with the ends of a few wires within the framework of his portal.

“Skipping meals consecutively can cause damage to your health.” Baymax noted, shuffling to gather up the still usable parts lying around into one big pile.

“We’ll stop by some gas station on the way home or something.” Hiro called out from over his shoulder. Though he noted that his voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears. By using the scrap metal and recyclable parts left on the island. He’s only a few days away from being completely done with the portal. It’s not as gigantic as the one Abigail had gone through, it’s actually considerably smaller. Just tall enough to fit Baymax, but even so, it’s just as elaborate.

 

And just as unstable.

None of the other guys have been here since the day he had flown off in a murderous rage. Nearly turning his brother’s nurse bot into a killing machine.

“How are those power source cables coming along buddy?”

“The systems are in place and ready to perform at maximum capacity.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Hiro smirked.

Standing back and admiring his handy work he guessed that it would take about 2-4 days max to get this done. He had been working nonstop for months. It had taken Krei tech a few years of serious testing and research for him to even get remotely close to what Hiro had managed to do. His grades were still top notch, and they had to be in order for Aunt Cass and the others not to grow suspicious.

Honey Lemon and Fred texted him constantly to check up on him. He had set up a system in his phone to respond on time and notify him if they had plans to stop by his house.

Sometimes they all show up randomly. Wasabi always asks if he's busy before stopping by, unless they've dragged him along unexpectedly. So he's had planted cameras in the neighboring street stoplights to monitor for their cars. It gave him just enough time to wrap up whatever it was he was working on and get Baymax to fly him home.

Gogo sometimes challenged this system by zooming past the cameras undetected. So he had spent a good week working with her on her bike, taking note of it’s speed so that he could modify his cameras. At this point he had basically memorized their schedules. 

From the beginning there weren’t enough books. Not enough documents, not enough evidence that this could possibly work anywhere other than inside Hiro’s head. But he had never been one to be deterred by what others thought was impossible.

 

Modal Realism and the Counterpart Theory.

 

Nothing else mattered at the moment more than those words.

 

Not the way Hiro's stomach stung from his somewhat deliberate fasting, and certainly not the way his lip bleed from his insistent biting. A habit he picked up from years of concentrating to hard. The two ideas were cemented into Hiro’s brain with a frantic need to understand them. He was a genius. He was far beyond the scope of regular human intelligence, but even he knew this was risky.

 

Modal Realism was not exactly a theory. It was an idea. And ideas were generally unacceptable in science unless backed up with signatures. But Hiro was at the point in his research that he wouldn’t mind gambling his life. The idea was that possible worlds exist, and they were just as real, and just as concrete as our “actual” world. The only difference is that they differ in context. Things like “It is possible that...” or “x might have done y” is a modal statement.

 

Modal statements can’t be true in our world, but are true in another world identical to ours. And they exist because when we make a statement about something that is possible, there is some truth behind it. So saying “I could have been born with blue eyes”, translates into “In another world I was born with blue eyes.” And therefore under David Lewis's idea, saying "Tadashi could have survived," meant "Tadashi had survived." Just not in this world.

 

And that was the foundation of Hiro's hope.

 

If he could create a portal at where his actual world and a possible world get close enough, then he can break their synchronicity.

 

Which brought him to the Counterpart Theory, the theory that in every possible world, there exists another you. Although you aren’t entirely identical to yourself in other possible worlds. In another world Hiro could be a doctor, a vet, half robot, serial killer, an orange haired alien freak, or just a 23 year old nobody, anything at all.

 

There was an infinite number of possible worlds where his doppelganger was living a fictional narrative. It would be like having a long lost twin. Someone who looked like him, but who he knew nothing about. Which would be weird, but he didn’t care which world he landed in as long as Tadashi was alive. The only problem was that possible worlds can’t be reached. Possible worlds and his "actual" world don’t ever interact. All possible worlds run along the same time stream as the actual world, but they are strictly independent.

 

But Hiro was willing to risk everything on even the smallest glimpse of his brother. Every possible detail, everything that could cause even the smallest failure was looked into. He practically had around ten shelves of books from the SFIT library memorized.

 

He wouldn't allow for even the smallest error. After all, Hamadas don't make mistakes.

The cold air blowing in from the knocked out walls of the facility ran a shiver through his body. Hiro was definitely not dressed for this weather. No doubt a storm was heading this way, effectively cutting him short a few days of work time. He was working on a tight deadline. He had seen what bad weather conditions did to untested systems.

 

He didn’t want to end up like Abigail.

Floating around in empty space was equal parts beautiful, as it was terrifying. It was the place where the real world met it’s streams of possibilities, It was the wonderland that Hiro needed to make his way though. He couldn’t be let alone in his thoughts. That much was pretty self evident.

Everything had to be perfect.

 

Otherwise...

Tightening his hold on the wire in his hand Hiro closed his eyes, leaning his head against his cold, shivering knuckles. He let out a wobbly breath, held together by a wish.

_It’ll work._

“Hiro, your neurotransmitters show elevated levels of adrenaline, and decreased levels of serotonin.”

Choosing to ignore whatever it was Baymax was saying, Hiro straightened back up. Swiping at his nose as if to stall his urge to sneeze. He made his way over to the far corner of the room, taking a seat on the concrete. His eyes stung from the strain of the wind, so he rubbed at them to bring out some tears in an effort to hydrate them. Once situated, he pulled his laptop over to him. Balancing it on his cross legged position. He was editing his code, examining the framework used for Silent Sparrow. He had managed to get a hold of the original plans shortly after Callaghan's arrest.

He would more than likely go to sleep during his study period tomorrow. His back stung in between his shoulder blades as he straightened up his posture. Glancing over at the time on his laptop Hiro gave an indifferent huff, going back to his work. The cold air nipped at his toes, freezing the tip of his fingers into icicles on the keyboard.

The project was heavily influenced by Silent Sparrow.

He was sure he had thought about it a million times over following the funeral, but at that time none of his thoughts had any linear sequence. So the plan was lost somewhere between the stages of his grief. Hiro was essentially mimicking the entire project. He was sure that portals have been banned for research within the scientific community, mostly as a result of the terror inducing event that had nearly sucked up the whole city.  

 

The scattered, written up pages and highlighted documents surrounding his chair created a mess similar to the one in his mind. The building anxiety and pressure he was making for himself threatened to come back to bite him in the morning.

 

All of Hiro's previous inventions before this had worked, even the Fredzilla suit that didn't even technically qualify as science. But for once in his young genius life, Hiro wasn't confident about this.

 

He thinks about the success of this project more than he should, but it's not as if he hasn't had time to think about it.

 

It's been about a year and a half since the Callaghan incident.

 

And even if people thought he was over it, Hiro wouldn't ever just "get over it". Especially not when he looked in the mirror as he got taller and saw Tadashi staring back at him.

 

Aunt Cass and the others hadn't commented when he had one day worn Tadashi's hat, it was out of the blue, but he knew they saw it too.

 

It was clear in the way Aunt Cass had shattered two plates and couldn't seem to meet his gaze when he had left. It was clear in the way Wasabi stared just a bit too long, how Honey Lemon kept rubbing at her eyes, effectively ruining her makeup. How Gogo had given him one glance and had disappeared for the rest of the day. And how Fred's jokes had lost their usual punch.

 

If he thought about it honestly, some of the blame for what had happened belonged to him. Hiro had just assumed Tadashi would always be there.

 

His brother had that kind of presence about him. The kind of personality that made you forget that he had never just not been there in the first place. And to him, it was impossible to even think of a time Tadashi would just disappear. But Hiro should've known better.

 

No one lived forever. And Tadashi just like every other person on earth was no exception. He knew that better than anyone really. His parents had died when he was three. Tadashi had practically raised him from the ground up, so that’s why he had selfishly, ignorantly, taken advantage of what he had like a spoiled child.

 

He had gotten better since then. Well, he wasn’t entirely fixed but he was definitely better. He ended up attending the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology with the rest of his friends. Deciding to put his to brain to good use like his brother would have wanted him to. He had taken up Tadashi’s lab space, but he didn’t dare clear it out of its old files and clutter. Fred had good heartedly offered to have it cleaned up for him, but a sharp elbow to the ribs from Gogo stopped him from saying anything more.

 

It was like home. Spending time with the others was a good distraction. Fred often brought him gummy bears, Gogo took him out for test drives on her latest inventions, and Wasabi and Honey Lemon were always updating him with the latest advances in robotics, patiently listening to his ridiculous ideas that they could only half keep up with.

 

They meant well, and he knew that. But it wasn't enough. 

 

Baymax helped. Even if he honestly enjoyed spending time with his superhero team there was only so much they could distract him from. With Aunt Cass working down in the cafe, Hiro was usually left alone after school until later into the evenings. Normally he and Baymax would fly all around San Fransokyo looking for bad guys to kill time until dinner. Or he would work on homework until his eyes burned and he couldn’t stand the boredom anymore.

 

He felt a little lighter knowing that he had a plan of sorts and knowing that if it all went right this wouldn’t be anything but a bad dream and he would see Tadashi again.

 

Some part of him, the logical part, told him he shouldn't go through with this. That he should stop before he actually started building. And deep down he knew that no one would agree with his plan... Which is why he hadn't told anyone about it. They would have all told them how wrong it was to try and force everything back to normal. He didn’t need them to lecture him on what Tadashi would have wanted. He knew better than anyone else what Tadashi would have wanted... But he chose to ignore that for his own sake.

“Baymax, hand me the blow torch.” Hiro said dully, getting up from his sitting position and pushing back his fringe with the palm of his hand. He ducked his head, putting on the welding mask near his foot. He turned his head to look over at the robot, holding out his hand expectantly.

Baymax simply blinked, he had stopped working and instead opted for just observing Hiro. “Your elevated levels of adrenaline indicate stress and anxiety. This is also an effect of sleep deprivation.”

Letting out a huff Hiro lowered his hand, walking over to his tool kit and dragging it over to the base of the portal. When Tadashi had created Baymax he didn’t seem to have had Hiro’s stubbornness in mind. Baymax was more talk then he was action when it came to his nursing. Or at least, that’s how it had been lately.

Picking up a piece of metal Hiro held it tightly, placing it along the outer shell of his creation. He was building the casing for all of the internal mechanics of the machine, fusing them together like a puzzle.

“There are signs of malnutrition evident in your system. You have a low concentration of amino acids, and are receiving an inadequate intake of proteins. Vitamin-C counts are shown as a result to lack of exposure to sunlight and citrus foods-”

“Baymax, stop scanning me.”

“Mood swings and flairs within your brain activity-”

“Baymax-” Hiro warned, not bothering to stop and turn to face the bot. Instead focusing on the blue, white flame of the fire. The hissing sound of the gas was a welcome distraction for him.

“-Are a result of overexertion-”

“Baymax, look. _Will you just-_ ”

“-Focusing on negative emotional memories-”

_“Baymax, stop it!”_

Shutting off the torch, and snapping up the mask from his face. He let it sit on top of his head as Hiro spun around. “Okay, I get it already.” He bit out feeling exasperated, looking up at Baymax’s cameras. He never noticed how tall he had gotten, he was an inch from being able to stare at Baymax in the eyes without having to tilt his head up. “I don’t need you to scan me, I know what’s wrong with me, okay?” Pulling off the mask, Hiro sighed. Toying with it in his hands as he clenched his jaw, trying to release some of his tension. His head was pounding... And he was certainly feeling the cold now.  “I’m so close with being done Baymax... I need you to work with me here.”

A part of him wishes Baymax was capable of giving off some kind of emotion. The blank stares and almost judging tilts of his heads were enough to frustrate and worry him.

“Why are we back at Akuma Island?”

Letting his eyelids fall shut for a long moment Hiro turned away briefly, inclining his head down to put the welding mask back on. He's gonna get a fever out of this. Maybe he shouldn't have taken out Baymax's strict nature. If that had been the case, Baymax would have never let him leave the house like this, or he would have dragged him home ages ago and told the others what he's been up to. “I have some work to finish here.”

“Help from loved ones would raise your serotonin level and improve your mental state.” Baymax said. “It will also allow more progress to be achieved. Shall I contact your friends?”

Glancing at Baymax’s stomach, he stared briefly at the contact pictures of each of his friends. “I don’t need their help Baymax. They wouldn’t understand anyway.”

Normally Baymax would have already gone ahead and called all of them, with or without Hiro’s permission. It was a feature Tadashi had put in place in case of depression, or need of urgent assistance. And it was clever, but Hiro appreciated it as much as he didn’t. Which is to say, not at all.

Once he had developed this whole plan. He had made sure that Baymax couldn’t do anything the Hiro didn’t want.

“Would having them understand affect your emotional state negatively?”

“I don’t know Baymax. I just need _you_ to understand right now.” Hiro said bitterly, picking the blow torch back up into his hand and walking back over to the metal donut shell he was building to go over his portal.

“Your friends also miss Tadashi.”

Hiro froze.

He slowly brought back up the mask. Keeping it up over his eyes with his left hand. Of course Baymax knew what he was doing. He wasn’t stupid. He had been programmed by both of the Hamada’s. And Hiro had noticed the level of self awareness that his faithful companion had acquired. It was pretty stupid to have tried to hide it from him. Up to this point Baymax had willingly been doing whatever it was Hiro had ordered him to do. No questions asked. He doesn’t really understand why the healthcare robot chose now of all times to question him.

 

_He was so close._

He knew that they were still hurting. Still mourning the loss of their friend. And Aunt Cass was able to smile without looking like she was going to cry so they had made progress. There were days that passed without incident and everyone was happy. But Hiro had always noted that something was missing.

 

The illusionist part of him, the frustrated childish part of him, is what pushed him to to this. To reach for something that would fall apart when reinforced with too much hope.

Though, the problem with alternate universes, was that they're founded on theories that the very scientists who helped create them regretted.

 

And Hiro momentarily wondered if he would regret this too.

“Yeah.” He offered up a weak, meaningless smile. “I know they do.”

“Would they not appreciate you building this portal?”

“No... No, they wouldn’t.” Hiro sighed. “Can we talk about this later Baymax?” It was more of a demand then it was a request.

Not really waiting for an answer he glanced around for a flashlight. The grey skies had dimmed the natural lighting in the room. It definitely was going to start to rain soon. “I promise once I finish this and test run the portal we can do whatever Dr. Phil stuff you wanna do, okay?”

Hiro stared at Baymax pleadingly, the healthcare bot scanned him one last time. His dark black lenses focusing on his face, the list and sources of his behavior lined up beside him and Baymax saved them into a file along with footage of Hiro’s compromise.

 

“Will building this portal improve your emotional state?”

 

Even without a mirror Hiro knew the smile on his face was crooked. “We’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I won't be so wishy washy after this! Sorry!


	3. Preparation for an Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his fifteen years of living in this exact room, Hiro wasn't sure what he hated the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who it is nerds. Thought you had seen the last of me hadn't you?

Maybe it's the ceiling.

 

Or maybe it’s the way that the curtains don't seem to block out the dark rain from outside.

 

The pastel drapes Cass had ordered didn’t even try to reach both edges of the window frame. They let the dimmed light shine through the gaps in a way that shouldn't be as annoying as it is. Maybe it’s the divider. The way it has lost all purpose. And now all it does is stop dust from traveling over from the untouched side of the room. In all honesty Hiro hates that thing more than he depends on it, be he depends on it all the same.

 

It's now more of a shield than anything else. A way of hiding a reality that he has worked hard to put behind him.

 

Maybe it’s the action figures. As far as he knows he's had them since forever, but can't remember where he got them. Though now, they just serve to remind him that he can't live up to his name.

 

The bed squeaks when he shifts to bury his face into his pillows. And he takes a moment to think about what part of it bothers him.

 

In his sixteen years of living in this exact room, Hiro wasn't sure what he hated the most.

 

It might be how the walls aren't soundproof and he can hear the muffled conversation about him echoing from downstairs.

 

He wonders if Aunt Cass ever told anyone about his little breakdown last year. But he decides not to get worked up over something she had every right to share with people who she thought could help.

 

He's not crying this time around. It might be the anniversary of Tadashi's death but he's not crying. And some part of himself resents that.

 

The others are downstairs, wearing black and leaving him alone like it’s the funeral all over again. The only difference this time around is that Baymax is charging up in the corner while he just lays on the bed staring up at the ceiling thinking about what he hates.

 

He feels like a kid again, acting gloomy and secluded up in his room. At this point he realizes he’s acting bratty. Refusing to grow up and handle his problems like an adult. Not that he technically needs to. He’s sixteen, and not responsible for his behavior for at least another two years.

 

It’s a pathetic excuse for what he’s planning. But it’s the best he has for now.

 

Deciding to stop wallowing in his own self pity Hiro sat up, pushing himself up on his elbows. He momentarily stopped to listen to the dull hum of Baymax’s charging station before swinging his legs over the edge of his bed and walking over to the door. Light from the hallway spilled through the door frame, letting a soft yellow outline its presence.

 

Taking a deep breath and steadying his nerves Hiro hesitantly placed his hand on the doorknob. Turning it with a reluctant determination before stepping out. He made an effort to close the door behind him as quietly as possible. Gripping the railing tightly, trying to take more support from it than it actually offered.

 

“It’s really been almost two years, huh...”

 

“Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?”

 

“Has Hiro been upstairs all day?”

 

Even without walking down the final steps and stepping out into the cafe he can guess that they’re all sitting around the counter. Drinking coffee or tea depending on what they want to combat the cold stormy weather outside the glass windows.

 

Cass hadn’t opened the cafe today. Everyone in the city knew about Tadashi, and what Hiro had done to stop the once well respected professor. Hiro’s not sure how he feels about the whole city knowing about his brother. It was a news report that he had never bothered to watch.

 

At school multiple people had tried to come up to him and have him autograph the newspaper article about the whole incident. But each and every time he had brushed them aside with a stiff smile and apologetic shake of his head.

 

The others seemed to understand. Gogo made sure to glare at any students who just wanted to ask him some questions.

 

Overall he and his friends had taken their fame differently. Fred had embraced the attention with open arms. Blabbing on and on about himself, always entertaining and putting on a show for his adoring fans. Wasabi had taken it all in stride. He was shy to the attention at first but he warmed up to the appreciation pretty quickly. He took pictures with people who asked and politely declined anything he was uncomfortable with. But overall he was very accommodating.

 

Honey Lemon was sort of a middle ground of the team. She was welcoming like Fred. Shining brightly on stage and always happy to take pictures and sign photos. But when she was with media and people of importance she became serious. Presenting herself in a professional manner that was pretty cool to watch. Gogo was a lot less conforming, only accepting to do things that interested her. But she was nice to the general public, but snarky whenever the media became involved.

 

Hiro himself made it a point to keep his exposure small. Though it was pretty much impossible to do when he was the star of the show. The kid genius who avenged his equally genius brother. Who as it turned out, was killed by the smartest man in the world. It was a movie deal waiting to happen. Not that he would let it become one.

 

The media had reached out to them a few times. Asking for interviews and special appearances from all of them. Even now there is probably some news segment reminding the world of Tadashi’s death. Probably telling them to send regards to the family in their time of need.

 

“It’s been hard on him...” Even without needing to see her. He can tell that Cass is trying not to cry. “It’s not easy to lose a sibling...”

 

Biting at his nail Hiro is suddenly hit with guilt.

 

He doesn’t want to do this to her.

 

Aunt Cass doesn’t deserve this.

 

He’s done with his portal. He’s decided that today will be his last day in this reality. He’s going to undo all of the emotional progress they’ve made up to this point. He often likes to think none of them understand him. But that’s never been necessarily true. Aunt Cass had lost her sister, she had lost her nephew, and her brother-in-law.

 

He owes Cass more than he realises.

 

He owes everyone downstairs more than he realises.

 

They’ve put up with him and his stupid mood swings time and time again. They've tried to reach out to him and make him feel better in Tadashi’s absence. And even though Hiro appreciates this, he’s invested himself too deeply with the success of his project.  

 

It’s too late to take it all back. All that’s left... is to say goodbye.

 

“Hiro!”

 

There’s no guarantee that any of them would still care about each other once he stepped through that portal.

 

But he’s selfish enough to risk it all.

 

“Hey guys.”

 

Stepping out from his hiding spot Hiro made his way over to them. Pushing up his messy hair he gave the group a tired smile, trying to ignore the way Cass’s eyes lit up at the sight of him.

 

Honey and Fred are the first to get up and reach out to him. They tag team him into a hug that crushes more than just his heart.

 

“Hiro! My man, you’re looking great!” Fred grins backing off to get a better look at Hiro.

 

Hiro can’t help but smile, even in a tux Fred still somehow manages to look like a wreck. Though he doesn’t have much room to say anything, afterall he’s the one wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. If it was any other time they would have called him out on not dressing for the occasion. But they’ve always been careful with him around this time of the year.

 

“You guys look good too.” He scanned them up and down. “Sorry it took me a while to come down, I was just finishing up one of Baymax’s new upgrades.”

 

“You never stop tinkering do you.” Honey let out a short laugh, resting her arms on the table as Wasabi moved her cup away from the edge.

 

“What did you do this time?” Wasabi asked, giving up a small patient smile trying his hardest to let this pointless talk continue on.

 

“Nothing special.” Hiro shrugged. Even though he was glad they weren’t addressing the elephant in the room, he didn’t completely enjoy this dancing around the subject either.

 

Plus it wasn’t like he was lying, adding a higher capacity onto Baymax’s memory storage wasn’t anything grand. But he wasn't on planning to tell them why he needed it.

 

The conversation ended there with his dismissal. It was only natural he guessed. He had avoiding them for a few weeks now. And the fact that they’re meeting up now of all times was poor planning on his part.

 

Fed up with the awkwardness Gogo spoke up. “Hiro.”

 

Keeping his calm he hummed in acknowledgement, taking the empty seat that had been obviously saved for him.

 

“Are you doing okay?”

 

“Sure.” He shrugged, it was vague but it was a start. But judging by the pitied looks and helpless glances that they shared with each other, they didn’t think it was a good answer.

 

“Well you must be... I mean, with finals coming up and everything...” Wasabi tried.

 

“That’s right.” Honey added, toying with her cup now that her phone wasn’t around. “We all get a bit tired this time around.”

 

“Yeah, Honey’s right. Once finals are done we should all take a trip to the beach!” Fred smiled, a bit dull in comparison to his usual radiance. “I can show off all my cool underwater moves. Fredzilla meets the lochness monster!”

 

Gogo scoffed at the thought, “Not in this weather. Have you even looked outside?”

 

“Aw... Come on Gogo. You gotta live a little!”

 

“She’s right Fred.” Wasabi sighed. “We’re not going anywhere until it doesn't look like the world is ending outside.”

 

“Not you too Wasabi! You gotta back me up here!”

 

Letting them bicker amongst themselves Hiro turned to meet Honey’s eye. She looked nice dressed up. Though truth be told he had always thought Honey Lemon was pretty, sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if she and Tadashi could have had something in the future.

 

“Wouldn’t that be nice Hiro?”

 

“Yeah, sounds like fun.” Giving them a small smile for trying he finally gave into Cass’s intense stare. He never liked seeing her in black, it didn’t suit her personality. It didn’t suit any of them really. “Hey Aunt Cass.”

 

“Hiro.” She smiled in understanding. “Would you like something to eat?”

 

“No, I’m good.” He shook his head. “I don’t feel like eating right now.”

 

“Well if you’re feeling up to it later, I made some hot wings for you.” She shifted, moving to give him a quick kiss on the temple. “I’m proud of you Hiro.”

 

He’s not sure what she could possibly be proud of, but he takes it to heart anyway. Something about the way her sad eyes look down at him, hits him with a pain that makes him suddenly want his mom.

 

“I love you Aunt Cass.”

 

It’s sudden and he’s not sure when the others stopped talking but it’s quiet and overwhelming. “I-” There’s something caught in his throat, so Hiro stops and stares at the table. He’s taking deep breaths to steady his voice even though there’s already tears building in his eyes but he pushes them aside. “I love all you guys... A-And I’m sorry. Guys- _I’m so, so, sorry..._ ”

 

_I’m sorry about what I’m about to do to you._

 

Aunt Cass has him in an instant. Her arms are wrapped around his shoulders and the group is watching on with sad smiles as he apologizes for the future and the past.

 

He still doesn't cry, even though he knows he should. 

 

They shower him in hugs and pats on the back. He takes it all in stride, letting them pet and joke around with him. For the rest of the night they eat dinner together like some kind of makeshift family full of nerds.

 

Fred suggests they watch a movie somewhere along the way, and they do. After some debate they settle on a forgettable rom com that has Gogo groaning, Honey Lemon and Fred squealing while Wasabi cries at all the cheesy parts.

 

Aunt Cass looks happy through all of it, and Hiro is glad he finally did something right.

 

They spend the night because of the coming storm. Aunt Cass lets them take over the living room while Hiro opts to sleep in his room. They’re disappointed when he says he’s heading upstairs, but they don’t stop him.

 

Closing the door behind him Hiro moves to his desk taking out a piece of paper. He takes his time to write his farewell letter as he watches the last few bars on Baymax charge up with a bright green light.

 

“Hello Hiro.” The bot blinks, giving a small wave as he waddles out from his charging station. He focuses on Hiro’s face with his camera, but chooses not to comment.

 

“Hey Baymax.” Hiro answers softly, resigned. He takes the letter in his hand and decides to leave it on his bed for them to find. That is, if they find it before he restarts the world. "Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the mess of updates last time. I was having a huge writer's block so I just spat on a page and tried to force out a chapter into something normal. I've edited up what I had for last chapter and fixed my mistakes. Sorry for putting you all through that and making you suffer alongside me. But thanks for sticking around! :D


	4. Collecting Observations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The universe sure had a sick sense of humor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update? How rare. It must be Christmas or something.

Stepping through the portal is haunting and familiar.

 

His phone was buzzing non-stop just before he mustered up the courage to go through. So Hiro can only guess that they're looking for him.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind he wonders who found out first. But he pushes that thought away before it can get to him.

 

He thought briefly about muting his phone. But the constant buzzing in his pocket grounded him to reality in a weird way.

 

He doubts they feel the same way about his voicemail.  

 

The fact that the buzzing had cut itself off when they stepped though just makes this all the more ominous.  

 

There is still the ruins of the town floating around here. He’s not surprised to see that they look exactly the same. It’s nostalgic and mildly traumatizing. Though it’s not like they can break apart or decay floating inside of nothing. He wonders if Krei still wants the pieces of his expensive building back.

 

There are pieces of concrete that Baymax dodges like asteroids. It's like being in space. Which is kind of funny considering Hiro never really wanted to be an astronaut. 

 

Holding onto Baymax gives him some sense of security. Though it's not like it really helped, floating inside of a dark cosmic void didn't seem safe no matter what he did.

 

At this point he’s not sure how long they’ve been in here. There's no indication of time to be found, but it feels like only a few minutes have passed.

 

Though time on the outside could have already changed by years or months even. It hadn't changed at all while he was saving Abigail, but she hadn't aged in the slightest when they had found her, so anything was possible.

 

He had made sure to check Baymax’s rocket boosters before coming in here. Hiro's not dumb enough to make the same mistake twice.

 

There was no way he was leaving Baymax behind again.

 

He wonders if he’ll see Baymax’s original design floating around, though just the thought of it makes him feel anxious so he’d rather not actively waste time looking for it in here. 

 

It’s probably the last thing he needs to see right now.

 

“Hiro, there is a static anomaly appearing in all directions.” Baymax spoke suddenly, if he wasn’t a robot Hiro wonders if Baymax would still sound so calm right now.

 

“What do you mean?” Hiro shifted to see what his scans were picking up. Moving his hand away from the magnet holding him still he tapped at the glowing screen appearing on his left wrist. 

 

He was wearing his crime fighting suit, scanning around for some kind of threat. It only felt appropriate to put it on considering what he was doing. Maybe that's what gave him away, there was no way they didn't notice it was missing from Fred's house.

 

“The static is pooling in one direction, follow the electric emission.” Letting his hand lock back in place Hiro took a deep breath to calm his nerves. His shoulders were tense and the butterflies in his stomach were getting harder to ignore.

 

“Would that help stable your mood swings?”

 

Huffing sarcastically Hiro gave a slight nod. “Yeah, totally, Just be careful, okay?”

 

Looking ahead he could see it. A tiny flicker of something that fazed in and out like a dying light.

 

It was whirl pooling the clouds of random chemical matter surrounding it. Distorting the waves of colors in a way that reminded him of a galaxy swallowing itself into a black hole. The source of the pull was a small circle at the center, like a hologram of blue ocean waves that swirled together into a pool of energy.  

 

 _"Baymax, that's-!"_ This was it. _"It's another portal!”_

 

It's a shot in the dark but there was no going back now.

 

When he and Baymax had went through the portal its frame had collapsed.

 

The lack of power and its exposure to the elements really only made it suitable for one go. And although the environment was more controlled then in Krei's original design, Hiro had made sure his portal would break.

 

He couldn't risk having the others pass through it. It would be a suicide mission for them to come in here and try to find him. 

 

Watching his portal shrink into itself was terrifying, the sound it made was similar to the one a suction cup makes when it's being pulled off a flat surface.

 

Hiro was glad he couldn't hear anything else besides the rain as it closed up. A part of him thought that they would be there, landing on the island with Fred’s private plane just in time to see his face on the other side before it completely closed.

 

But that was wishful thinking, and really, it was pathetic of him to want them to stop him. Things like that only happen in movies.

 

And besides, Hiro didn't need to see the betrayed look on their faces when it all clicked.

 

Heading into the new portal is easy. Too easy. The force of it pulls them towards the opening at a speed he's not comfortable with.

 

“Baymax, try and slow down!  At this rate we're gonna crash into it!” Bracing himself Hiro ducked his head behind Baymax's back as the second set of boosters ignited, throwing out an opposite force that wasn’t nearly as strong.

 

“Please stay behind my wings, this level of wind resistance could cause whiplash.” Baymax's voice sounded muffled through the rushing wind and smell of burning fluid. 

 

“I don’t care about whiplash Baymax!” Hiro snapped, ducking behind them anyway, as they got closer he could hear the slight creaking of the magnets trying tried to keep him in place. “Watch your scanners big guy!”

 

“The waves are leading into what appears to be an exit, shall I go through?”

 

“Doesn’t matter if we should- we’re going in!”

 

The energy coming from the portal looked like plasma. The moment they go through it, it's like passing through a series of spider webs. It was like falling into a pool of gelatin that broke away into water. Everything was bright and Hiro feels like his bones are made of gel.

 

The last thing he remembers is trying to shout before everything goes black.

 

.

 

When Hiro wakes up his head is pounding. His eardrums feel blown out, and the steady ringing only worsens his discomfort.

 

Everything is fuzzy and out of focus when he tries to open his eyes. His mouth feels like it’s full of cotton. And his stomach aches painfully as he shifts to lessen the nausea he feels soon after.

 

“Ow...” He whined, recognizing the sound of inflating air coming from somewhere next to him. 

 

“Hello, I am Baymax, your personal health care companion. Good Morning Hiro.”

 

“B-Baymax...?” Hiro coughed at the dryness in his throat. Blinking away the bright light he turned on his side. His arms and legs felt sore, and he’s sure that he has bruises on his knuckles from where his suit had nipped him. 

 

Was he... on a bed?

 

“Wha... It w-worked...” Hiro took a deep breath, huffing out a short crazed laugh. “I can’t believe it... Baymax we’re-!” Trying to push himself up Hiro strained his eyes, looking around in a daze. “Where are we...?”

 

“It appears we have performed inter-dimensional travel into an unknown terrain.” Baymax blinked moving to give Hiro a better look of their surroundings. Holding out his balloon like hand steadily. "I have brought you a glass of water." 

 

"Thanks buddy." Hiro coughed, taking large gulps until he felt somewhat normal. Lightly touching his neck Hiro cleared his throat. His voice sounded a slight bit off, just a tiny bit deeper, but he chalked it up to being a result of waking up.

 

Rubbing at his eyes Hiro looked around him. He was on a clean bed, it looked brand new which was saying something in itself. The sheets and pillows were a pristine white but there was a red comforter laid out over them.  

 

He was in someone’s studio apartment.

 

Directly at the foot of the bed there was a closet, and to the right of it there was an door leading into what probably was a personal bathroom. 

 

To his left was a matching red couch, followed by a kitchen with dark counter tops and a small four person table.

 

It was a pretty plain room, the only things that made it even remotely personalized was the small stack of books on the counter near the door. Plus there was a small plant which sat in a brown pot next to the closet.

 

“This isn’t normal...” Hiro whispered, lifting himself out of the bed with Baymax’s help. He felt like he weighed a ton. His arms were basically lead at his sides.

 

Taking the time to scan his patient, Baymax blinked as he updated his database. “Your neurotransmitter levels are rising steadily.”

 

“Which means?” Hiro asked carefully, walking over to the stack of books. He picked the smallest one up in his hands, making sure not to loose the page it was opened on. 

 

“The treatment is working.”

 

Smiling at the familiar line Hiro flipped through the pages of the book. Skimming the words with a brief glance. “Quantum Mechanics and Modern Physics...” Setting the text book down again Hiro moved the others out of the stack, laying them out onto the counter side by side. “Baymax, take a look at this.” He said, shifting to let the robot walk up next to him. “These are all physics books.”

 

Stepping back Hiro walked over to the window just above the sink, looking out into the town as Baymax trailed after him. “We’re still in San Fransokyo... Hey, look!” He tapped his finger against the glass. Trying to get Baymax to follow his line of sight across the busy street. “Right there- It’s the Lucky Cat Cafe!” Pressing himself closer to the glass Hiro squinted to try and see if he could make out figures through the windows. 

 

There was no way he would be able to see inside the Cafe from this height, but he couldn't help but try. He wants, no he _needs_ to see Aunt Cass.

 

“Judging by my scanners we are approximately seven stories high in this building.” Baymax pointed out, waddling into the middle of the room as Hiro turned to head into the bathroom.

 

"This must be the room of the person who's portal we came through." Hiro scoffed. "You'd think they'd smart enough not to leave a random stranger and their robot alone in their apartment."

 

He hesitated for a second before trying to head in, scared that someone would pop out from behind the closed door.

 

Switching on the light Hiro walked in cautiously, wincing as the cold tile pressed against his bare feet. Not having much else to examine Hiro turned to look into the vanity mirror.

 

“I-I’m-”

 

He was taller... _much taller._ And his hair was... trimmed? It was still wild and fluffy but less shaggy around his ears. It was a good look for him. Granted he still looked mostly the same.

 

Opening his mouth slightly he noticed that his trade marked tooth gap was still there, much to his disappointment. He had hoped that by the time he got older he would have gotten it taken care of. 

 

He was still scrawny. Aunt Cass used to say that when he got older he would get broader shoulders like Tadashi, but this really proved her wrong.

 

He was still a skinny little nerd with no muscle. Though he honestly preferred this pretty boy look as opposed to having Wasabi’s muscle build. 

 

In his confusion he hadn’t noticed that he was now wearing a blue hoodie, with a red t-shirt underneath, and tan skinny jeans. Similar to the kind he remembered Tadashi owning while he was in high school. 

 

It wasn't much of an upgrade in compassion to his cargo shorts, zip-up hoodie, and red graphic tee but it was still startling to say the least. 

 

“Baymax..." Hiro asked, raising his hand to touch his face. "How old am I?”

 

“Your current physical form and body mass index, indicate that you are approximately eighteen years of age.”

 

“Eighteen..." He wondered. "How tall am I now?” He asked in disbelief, running his hand through his hair without breaking eye contact with himself.

 

“You stand at a height of five feet, seven inches tall.” Baymax responded calmly. And for once Hiro wanted him to sound panicked, or surprised at least. Just so that everything Hiro was thinking wouldn’t seem so crazy.

 

“B-But Tadashi was five feet ten inches when he died. You’re telling me I got two years older, and a foot taller by passing through a portal?”

 

Watching Hiro's voice fluctuation Baymax pulled up his old chart. "On a scale of one to ten how would you rate your current emotional state?" 

 

"I'm about to have a heart attack..." Hiro winced at the memory of bright blue defibrillators, making eye contact with the robot through the mirror. He tried sounding stern. "It's just an expression."

 

"Do you need compassion and physical reassurance?" Baymax blinked, shuffling his way forward to hug him. Knocking down the soap bottles and towels at his side as a result. 

 

"Stop! Stop!" Hiro flailed, trying to collect the fallen items while whispering loudly. "Don't make so much noise!"

 

“Are you worried?”

 

“Yes- no... I just...” Hiro took a deep breath, holding onto the sides of the porcelain sink to steady himself. “This is crazy...”

 

Startled by the sound of knocking, Hiro jumped, taking a few steps out of the bathroom to take a peak in the direction of the front door. Unsure of he should just hide and wait for the person to go away. 

 

“Shall I answer the door?” Baymax offered, making his way out and over to turn the doorknob just as Hiro processed what it was he was doing.

 

“Wait- Baymax wait!” He whispered sharply, steadying his nerves he gripped the side of the closet, ready to run and lock himself in the bathroom as Baymax answered the door, ignoring Hiro’s command.

 

“Hello, I am Baymax.”

 

“Baymax?” A female voice asked. “Is Hiro here?”

 

“No- I’m not here!” Hiro whispered. He wasn't ready. And why would they even be looking for him here? He didn't even really know where this was. 

 

“Yes, Hiro is here.” Baymax answered. Opening the door completely, stepping back to let the person in. Hiro straightened up, exasperated at the fact that Baymax had just ignored his frantic hand gestures.

 

Gripping his own arm awkwardly Hiro shifted in suprise when a familiar pair of dark brown eyes landed on him.

 

“Uh...um. Hello, M-Ms. Matsuda...” He smiled sheepishly. Not liking the way she glared at him, her short bobbed grey hair swaying as she huffed, adjusting her cardigan over her floral blouse.

 

“Hiro Takachiho, how dare you not stop by and see me.” The eighty year old woman scolded. “Especially with that newspaper going on about the lab accident. Honestly, we’ve been neighbors for almost three years now and you let me believe you’ve been dead for a week.”

 

_What?_

 

“Dead-” Hiro jerked as if he had been struck. Of all the things that could be different in this timeline. Of course it had to be something like this... “I’m not... What do you mean?” He asked, heart sinking as though he had just missed a step on a flight of stairs. 

 

Walking in the old woman signed, setting the plastic bag she was carrying onto the counter.

 

“What do you think? Haven’t you seen the news? _‘Genius College Boy Dies in Krei Tech Laboratory’_. Now, I didn’t believe it since they never found a body, but I was getting worried when they found your name tag in the ashes. Plus, you never seem to be home. They had your funeral and everything.” Grumbling to herself Ms. Matsuda pat Baymax’s shoulder as Hiro watched her move around the kitchen. “It’s just like the media to trick people. You’ve got some nerve to let people mourn you. If I hadn’t come to check for myself, I would have believed it myself too.”

 

“You mean... everyone thinks _I’m dead_?” Hiro gasped out, sinking down to sit on the foot of the bed as Baymax stayed by the door silently watching. 

 

“What else could we think? The lab you worked in caught on fire and your co-workers told the fire department you were still inside as it burnt down.”

 

_Fire... Of course it was a fire._

 

The universe sure had a sick sense of humor.

 

“Do you happen to have the newspaper on you?”

 

Ms. Matsuda nodded, reaching into her bag as she tossed him a crumpled roll of thin newspaper. Unrolling it with trembling fingers Hiro closed his eyes, not sure if he should read it now. Not with her watching him. But there it was, big giant letters popping out from the page in black bolded ink. 

 

**College Boy Disappears In Krei Tech Fire: Body Not Recovered.**

“First your parents, and then you... I was really worried about you mister.” She sighed. "You promised me you'd be careful."

 

“I’m sorry...” Hiro swallowed stiffly.

 

_Ha..._

 

He was always making someone worry wasn’t he...

 

“Where were you these last few days?”

 

“I was...”

 

Well considering everything he had just been told. He had been dead for the last few days in this timeline. Not that he could tell her that he was from an alternate universe up until now. 

 

What was he even supposed to say? There's no excuse for coming back from the dead. And even if the Hiro of this timeline had actually survived the fire, there was no reason he would leave and let everyone think he was dead. 

 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” Ms. Matsuda smiled noticing his discomfort. Pushing back her gray hair she smiled kindly. “I knew you were okay the moment I heard the news. But tell me, when did you get a Baymax? That young man... what was his name? Maybe you know him, tall boy, fit, big ears.”

 

He knew him. 

 

He knew who she was talking about the moment she mentioned Baymax. 

 

Hiro held his breath scared, clutching the fabric of his sweater Hiro waited, careful not to crush the newspaper in his other hand. He was afraid to say it. She had been vague.

 

_What if he was wrong?_

 

_What if Tadashi wasn't here either?_

 

But he needed to know. He needed to know if this had truly worked. If this was all _worth it._

 

Coughing awkwardly to the side Hiro toyed with newspaper, trying to look indifferent. “T-Tadashi Hamada, right?”

 

He could feel his heart speed up watching the way Ms. Matsuda’s eyes lit up in recognition. Biting back a toothy smile Hiro turned to hide his face, willing his feelings away as to not worry her. 

 

“That’s right! Tadashi Hamada... Cute young man, he’s the nephew of that woman who owns the cafe across the street. I’ve never been there. I’m trying to watch my figure, as you know. But last night he announced that he would be selling them."

 

"Selling them?"

 

"I don't know too much about it, but that boy is in a partnership with Callaghan and that fancy school you go to." Ms. Matsuda shook her head fondly. "But then again, that’s just like you. You’re always keeping up with all the latest tech. I’m too old for that.”

 

“N-no, you’re still young.” Hiro smiled feeling jittery again. Tadashi was mass producing Baymax... And with _Callaghan? Of all people?!_

 

“Good answer.” She grinned, teeth white and eyes shining. “But I’m gonna need to get myself a Baymax soon.” She sighed. “But they’re so darn expensive.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Hiro motioned over to his robot. “Baymax here wouldn’t mind helping you if you’re ever feeling sick. Right buddy?”

 

“I will add Ms. Matsuda as a new patient in my database.” Baymax turned to the old woman. “May I scan you now?”

 

Ms. Matsuda smiled, patting herself on the shoulder. “You may.”

 

Hiro waited, listening to the sound click of Baymax’s eyes as he finished scanning the woman.

 

“Ms. Matsuda you are in good physical and mental health, but you have a mild case of osteoporosis which is a result of low calcium and vitamin D.” Baymax paused, raising a finger for emphasis. “Your calculated intake should be 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Please take four glasses of milk per day, and add more dairy products into your daily diet.”

 

“Well I’ll be...” Ms. Matsuda huffed. “I see why that boy was all over the news. He’s got one smart machine to his name.”

 

Sitting up the old woman moved to leave. “Well I was just here to check up on the noises I heard. I know how bad you are at remembering to eat, so I brought you some food in case you were actually here. Always burying your head into books.” She sighed making her way over to the door. “I’m glad you’re really alright Hiro, rest up won’t you? It must have been quite a shock to find out you’ve been dead for a week.”

 

“Hah... yeah. That’s what I get for leaving town after an accident.” He lied, hoping that he sounded more collected than he felt as he watched her disappear behind the door quietly. 

 

“Hiro your cortisol level are boosting your blood sugar and triglycerides.” Baymax spoke, standing over Hiro as if to shield him from his problems.

 

This was too much... All of this was too much... The different last name he could handle, but being dead... This was _his_ room. He had been living here for,  _what? Three years now?_

 

Getting all this information at once was lucky. But it just goes to show that the world keeps going, with or without him. 

 

And it's terrifying.

 

“I’m scared Baymax.” Hiro muttered, eyes wide as the pain he had felt upon waking up returned, rushing back into his consciousness as he buried his face in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. 

 

“My scans show that there is no immediate danger in the vicinity. But you are showing high levels of anxiety.” Baymax tilted his head curiously. “What are you afraid of?”

  
“Everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've slowly started to get back into the whole fan-fiction way of life. I fell out of the fandom for a bit there. And my personal life got a bit dark for a time. So I've as of recently taken the time to sit down and decide how I've wanted to write this. So I hope it lives up to your standards.
> 
> I'm very indecisive with the story. And I'm not sure why.


	5. The Bond between Molecules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And really, he has no reason to be surprised. 
> 
> After all, The universe had never once been kind to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly trying to integrate myself back into the fandom.

Walking through campus alone like this, Hiro can almost convince himself that nothing has changed.

 

He had left Baymax back in the apartment for two reasons. The first being the fact that he didn’t have a charger for the health care robot anymore. The last thing he needed was Baymax acting loopy and unpredictable in the streets again. And the second reason being, that apparently no one besides the Tadashi of this world is supposed to own a Baymax yet.

 

Randomly showing up with a robot at his side would have drawn a lot of attention to him, and really, he just needs to be by himself right now.

 

It’s easy to forget what he’s left behind, especially now that it’s too late to go back.

 

After getting over the initial shock he shifted through the sheets of the bed, the disappointment was hard to swallow when his phone didn’t fall out from between the tangled fabric. A part of him had hoped that it had somehow made it through the weird transition.

 

He was always hoping for too much lately.

 

But if Tadashi was still alive, then surely his friends and Aunt Cass were doing well too.

 

This time for sure, he’ll make it up to them.

 

Pulling his hood up over his head Hiro kept his gaze down as he left the admissions office. If he was going to find out more about who he was in this world, he needed to start here. It’s not like he can just show up at Krei Tech looking for answers. And even though every fiber of his being was itching to find his brother, he couldn’t just show up out of the blue.

 

He’s not ready to face his demons just yet.

 

If his conversation with Ms. Matsuda and the newspaper was anything to go by, this Hiro had been doing pretty well for himself.

 

What he gathered from the newspaper was only the basics.

 

He had been an employee at Krei Tech ever since he was sixteen, and was by all accounts, still a genius kid who had graduated from high school at the age of thirteen. His parents had died when he was young, leaving him in foster care until Alistair Krei took an interest in him. That bit of information was perhaps the least concerning thing he’s had to come to terms with so far. He's not sure what he'd do if Takachiho had living parents.  

 

From then on Hiro can only guess that he moved into his own apartment, finally enrolled into SFIT after two years, and then met Ms. Matsuda somewhere along the way.

 

It was hard to believe that he owned that apartment, the fact that it was basically abandoned with the exception being his clothes and a few textbooks, showed that he and this other Hiro were hardly alike. And maybe it’s just because Takachiho was older, but back in his original universe Hiro’s room was personalized to the max.

 

The action figures, posters, masks, and journals overflowed from his side of the room. Practically leaking out onto Tadashi’s side. It was one of the problems with having a split room, through neither of them ever complained about it.

 

As it turned out his alternate self had two labs. Which spikes up the tiniest feelings of jealousy from within him.

 

Takachiho had a shared lab at Krei Tech, which had tragicaly burnt down. But he also had a personal lab within the applied physics building.

 

The labs within the applied physics building were deliberately built away from the other students. It was a place where private projects were developed. Companies payed to use the space and resources that the school provided. Afterall, there was nowhere like SFIT.

 

Pulling out the map of San Fransokyo that the secretary had kindly given him, Hiro scanned the area lazily. Everything was essentially in the same place as it had always been. He didn’t really need the map, but his day so far had been full of surprises so no one could really blame him for wanting a visual of the town.

 

Folding it back up along the creases Hiro shoved the thin paper back into his pocket. Ducking his head as he pulled open one of the glass doors leading into the building.

 

Moving past the receptionist Hiro flashed his access card against the elevator security. He had found it wedged between one of the pages of a book. It was probably being used as a placeholder, but it’s not like Takachiho would miss it.

 

The newspaper article had given him a better picture of what had happened to his look alike.

 

Within one of the testing facilities of the company a reactors had over heated, so the power had been cut off by the maintenance workers to minimize the risk. But the sudden cut off set the building in a frenzy, one thing lead to another and suddenly a fire broke out within one of the shared lab spaces. The exact cause was unknown but some random people remember him going in that day, but not ever coming out.

 

At this point he was pretty much considered a casualty by most people, afterall no one could exactly remember seeing him that day. All they knew was that his name tag was found among the ashes a few days later.

 

Hiro just hopes that Takachiho’s co-workers don’t frequent the SFIT campus.

 

The ding of the elevator doors pulling apart to let him out set his feelings in motion again. He’s not sure why he’s so anxious, but he is.

 

He feels like a man who has lost all of his memories. And he technically is, except that all of his _real memories_ up till now are basically worthless.

 

But judging by the fact that Ms. Matsuda seems to be the only one who really cared for Takachiho, then maybe... just maybe, he’ll be able to pull this off.

 

Ms. Matsuda had changed too.

 

She no longer wore funny clothing that was inappropriate for her age. But more importantly, she no longer frequented the Lucky Cat, meaning that she’s never met Aunt Cass. And if anything else, Hiro wants to make sure that wrong is corrected before he gets too comfortable.

 

Walking past a series of closed doors Hiro’s careful not to get in anyone’s way as he worms a path through the passing strangers.

 

This building was perhaps the most secure building on campus. It’s where Callaghan gets the majority of his funding for the school, considering that each person in this building has their own personal lab and office space.

 

Hiro had never been in the applied physics labs before. He had never had a proper reason to explore them, and even if he did. He wouldn't have been able to get in without some serious hacking.

 

It's crazy to think Takachiho worked here. 

 

When he reaches his door Hiro doesn’t hesitate to head inside. He wants to get out of sight as soon as possible, paranoid that one of Krei Tech’s employees would recognize him.

 

Hiro’s careful to lock the door behind him as he steps in. Even though he’s technically intruding, the sight he sees feels strangely familiar.

 

It’s a fair sized office space, there’s a large modern white desk in the corner facing the door. And the wall is covered in expo marker, touching the scribbles it’s easy to tell that the walls are white boards. The back wall behind the desk is just panels of windows that take in the light from the sun.

 

Stumbling over to the bookshelf on his left Hiro runs his finger along the spines. There’s a series of books that he recognizes, but many that he’s never heard of. And it’s not like they’re just ordinary books. Just from sight alone he can tell that the majority are textbooks on robotics and manuals for parts.

 

Moving aside he picks up some scattered files. Straightening them out in his hands before setting them down on the bookshelf.

 

It’s like being in his garage. The setting is similar, and the amount of science and evidence of late night projects has him smiling.

 

There’s a worn out pillow and blanket thrown hazardously on the office chair, so Hiro guesses that the original Takachiho must have slept here often.

 

Stepping over the clutter of pencils and research papers scattered all over the floor, Hiro kicks aside the comic books stacked up by the trashcan.

 

Stopping momentarily he takes a glance at the bin. It’s not so full, but there are empty gummy worm packets, food wrappers, crumpled sticky notes, and miscellaneous scraps. Getting down on his knees Hiro pushes aside some of the trash to pick out anything that interests him.

 

He pulls out a discarded paper that has the SFIT logo on the front. Unfolding the crumpled sheet he’s glad to see that it’s his class schedule.

 

It has all the same prereqs that he remembers taking two years ago as a freshman. Which sucks, especially since he had been in his third year at SFIT before jumping into the portal. At least this way, he’s guaranteed to pass with flying colors.

 

He’s an average first year now. Eighteen and in college, maybe it’s better this way. Joining a class with people his age instead of going in at fourteen.

 

Pocketing the information he moved to search through the forms on the desk. Pulling out the half open drawers before picking up the closed laptop he finds buried under some paperwork. Hiro opens it up expectantly, though he's more annoyed than he should be when it immediately asks him for a password.

 

Deciding to deal with that some other time he moves it away from everything else, just so that he doesn’t forget to take it with him.

 

Moving pens and paperclips aside Hiro dug around until he finds two files. One held copies of his- well, Takachiho’s personal records and everything about his position in the Krei Tech company.

 

Taking a seat on the office chair Hiro spread the sheets out onto the desk, looking them over briefly.

 

Takachiho was a part-time data science lead and experimental engineer for the Krei Tech robotics department. He was considered an intern up until the time he turned eighteen.

 

It doesn’t come as a shock to see that Takachiho was getting paid really well for his age. But then again, people like him don’t just go unnoticed.

 

The fact that they had the same birthday is a relief. As was the fact that Takachiho was born here in San Fransokyo, but by going through his passport, it turns out he had been a resident of Japan for a little over two years before he turned ten.

 

The second file is a lot more interesting.

 

Inside are plans and the design for a portal.

 

It’s intricate and hard to follow at points due to the messy handwriting, though just by glancing at it, Hiro can see that it _could_ work.

 

Though it obviously hadn’t.

 

Something had gone wrong on Takachiho’s end.

 

The power outage had probably messed something up. And long story short Hiro Takachiho is now nonexistent, and Hiro Hamada has replaced him.

 

Getting up to pull out more drawers he doesn't find anything worthwhile. Just old projects and statistic reports. He also finds printer paper, spare folders, old homework assignments, random doodles, random magazines and among other things, newspapers.

 

Turning around to pick up the blanket Hiro shakes it around, stopping only when a dull thud hits the wooden floor.

 

_Jackpot._

 

Leaning down he picks up the blue phone flipping it around in his hand before turning it on. The screensaver is a picture of him- well... a picture of Takachiho and a dog sitting together in a park.

 

Personally, Hiro had always been more of a cat person.

 

It must be an old picture considering there wasn’t any dog in the apartment, but he suddenly realizes how much he misses Mochi.

 

Even if that cat was an insufferable bastard at times. 

 

Trying to unlock the phone then and there is easier said than done.

 

He’ll have to head into his lab if he wants to hack in. But there’s not enough time to do that right now. He still has to go back and check up on Baymax.

 

Ducking his head Hiro paused, squinting at the dark object wedged between the desk and the book shelf. Leaning down he dragged out a box from beneath the desk. Turning it around until he could read the handwritten writing found on the side, “Personal Stuff.”

 

Instead of opening the box right there on the floor Hiro placed the laptop and phone inside, opting to pick up the entire thing and leave.

 

As much as he’d like to spend the rest of the day playing detective, he needs to see if Baymax can hack into any of Takachiho’s electronics.

 

There's nothing of importance left in here anyway. 

 

Making his way out of the room, he makes sure to turn off the light and lock the door behind him. Waving his access card over the scanner until it clicks before heading towards the elevator. He tries not to make eye contact with anyone as he walks out.

 

Heading back in the direction he had come, Hiro can’t help but notice that the weight of the box seems to grow each time he takes a step. He’s not sure if it’s because he’s tired, or if carrying someone’s life always feels this heavy.

 

If he’s grateful for anything, it’s that Takachiho didn’t seem to be close to anyone. Otherwise, trying to take over his life would be much harder.

 

Shifting his hold on the box he was carrying Hiro hefted it up higher before heading in the direction of the admissions office. If he can cut through the building it would lead him right to the bus stop near the school’s welcome sign.

 

Passing by other students Hiro kept his eyes on the pavement, forcing others to move around him for once. It gives him time to get lost in his own thoughts.

 

He’s not sure what kind of regrets Takachiho had that compelled him to make a portal, but Hiro feels a great amount of respect for him in his heart.

 

The sound of the door swinging open is what finally has him watching his step.

 

"Hey-"

 

Hiro grunts back as the box in his arms gets pushed up against his chest uncomfortably. The force of the collision making him stumble just the slightest bit, sending the sharp box corner bumping against his lip painfully. Though it’s nothing compared to the pain that blossoms in his heart.

 

_He knows that voice._

 

His hold on the box slackens as he focuses on the figure in front of him, but the familiar hands gripping his forearms catches it in his place.

 

“Woah- I'm really sorry about that.”

 

Looking up into his eyes, Hiro swears his brain short circuits.

 

_It's Tadashi._

 

And really, he has no reason to be surprised. 

 

After all, the universe had never once been kind to him.

 

Starring at his older brother in a trance Hiro blinked, letting the situation fully process in his brain before stepping back suddenly feeling horribly out of place.

 

_Tadashi doesn't know him._

 

“Uh- Thanks...” He muttered, his crooked smile twitching unsure of what it is he’s trying to convey, watching as his brother sets the box in his hands down on the pavement looking nothing short of concerned.

 

Tearing his gaze away Hiro feels his voice faltering as he swallows, trying to keep up his calm facade he raises his arm to clasp the back of his neck sheepishly. His other hand fists the end of his coat in an effort to ignore the sharp sting that pierces him between his eyes.

 

There's no point really, he's already on the verge of hyperventilating. Blinking rapidly he winces as he starts again, not sure why he’s even trying to speak.

 

“Um... _Sorry for-_.”

 

He chokes. 

 

Hiro cuts himself off with a breathy laugh, border-lining on a cough just as his face contorts into a watery grimace. He breaths, trying to force his expression back to normal. Letting his hair fall over his eyes so that Tadashi can't see him try to collect the crumbling parts of his heart like a man trying to scoop up sand with a fork.

 

Clasping a hand over his mouth he tries to hold back the series of uneven hiccups that escape him, curling in on himself his body forces out choked sobs that make his shoulders shake violently while his lungs heave to collect the air that keeps escaping him.

 

He’s probably scaring Tadashi with such a strong reaction, but he can’t stop bawling. His heart aches with a pain he could never express to anyone.

 

He hears a swift rustle of clothing before a solid warmth surrounds him.

 

Almost immediately he’s swept up in Tadashi’s familiar arms.

 

He’s holding onto Hiro firmly, his arms looping around Hiro’s back as he buries his face in the smaller boy’s hair. He doesn’t move, letting Hiro’s thin arms shoot up and wrap around his neck, unflinching as Hiro tunnels into the crook of his neck.

 

“Just breath, okay?”

 

And _he tries_. 

 

He honestly, wholeheartedly tries.

 

_But he can't._

He's clawing at Tadashi's shirt in an effort to bring him closer. Everything inside of him is breaking apart and the guilt and loneliness melts away frighteningly fast. 

 

He missed this, _he needed this._  

 

He's probably causing a scene. His cries are loud and echoing to his own ears. It's mortifying as far as first meetings go, but Hiro can't find it in him to care. 

 

The fact that he can hear Tadashi's heartbeat, feel his warmth. Being held like this sends all of his regrets into his throat, drowning him in a million things he should of said but hadn't.  

 

Tadashi lets Hiro cry for a what feels like an eternity, drawing back only to gently pry away Hiro’s hands from his neck. Holding them both in his hands as he waits for Hiro's breathing to even out.

 

Tadashi smiles as softly as he can, although his voice is serious as he reaches up and pushes a few wild strands away from Hiro’s eyes. Waiting paciently as the small genius sniffles, wiping at his runny nose.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Hiro doesn’t respond. He starts and trails off again, not sure where to take the sentiment that’s forming at his lips so he grinds his teeth in a futile attempt not to speak.

 

“It’ll be okay, I promise.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a cold as I write this, so if it seems incoherent. That's probably because I've sneezed out a part of my brain. Either way, enjoy!


	6. The Anomaly of Memory: Déjà vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This wasn’t Baymax.
> 
> The chip is what made Baymax, well... Baymax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.

Hiro’s not sure why he’s even bothering to hide his face in his sleeve. Tadashi had seen him cry a million times before as they were growing up.

 

But here he his, sitting quietly on Tadashi’s computer chair with his face buried in his hands.

 

The walk up into Tadashi’s lab nearly has him crying all over again, the familiarity of it all hits him harder than he had anticipated. Though, he’s not sure what he was expecting. It’s not like he wasn’t a wreck before this.

 

Tadashi is on the other side of the room getting him a cup of water. His steps are quiet as he sets it down on the desk behind Hiro before taking a seat on his spare office chair.

 

“Feeling better?” He asks, swaying slightly as he ducts to glance at Hiro’s face.

 

Hiro nods to the side, feeling completely embarrassed for himself. Even when Tadashi was alive Hiro never liked crying in front of him. He always felt weak and vulnerable afterwards.

 

Aunt Cass used to try and tell him that there was nothing to be ashamed about. But early on, he had noticed that whenever he cried Tadashi always lost his composure. Always taking on a defeated and helpless look that only emphasized his worry. Almost as if it was his fault that Hiro was crying in the first place.

 

Trying to busy himself Hiro turned around to take the plastic cup in his hands. Taking a long slip he toyed with the rest. Watching as the remaining water sloshed around the edges of the cup before settling.

 

Clearing his throat to cut the silence Hiro flicked at the rim of the plastic absentmindedly. “Thanks.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Tadashi smiled, and Hiro’s could feel his eyes soften at the simplicity of it. Taking the time to properly look at his brother he noted two things.

 

For one, Tadashi is no longer wearing a baseball cap. Which is reasonable he guesses, considering it was their dad who had given it to him in the first place. And two, Tadashi still has the same fashion sense.

 

His mint sneakers, matching cardigan, and dark brown jeans haven’t changed at all. And it’s this fact that helps him gain a bit of confidence. He can do this.

 

There’s nothing to be afraid of right now.

 

Turning his gaze away before he can get caught staring Hiro glances around the room. There is still a mess of machine parts and blueprints all over the place. And the circular window overlooking the town makes him feel safe. This was his old lab after all.

 

“I’m sorry about the mess.” Tadashi says sheepishly, his hand coming up to cup the back of his neck, a habit of his that Hiro remembers well.

 

“No, it’s okay.” Hiro sighs, taking a deep breath before kicking away a nail that happened to be near his foot. “I’m sorry for... crying. I must have freaked you out.”

 

Shaking his head Tadashi crossed his arms over his chest. Kicking the nail back in Hiro’s direction as if they were playing a game. “It’s fine.” He smiled as Hiro kicked the nail back in his direction. “You’re not the first person who’s broken down this week.” He hesitated for a moment, sounding tired. “Finals here are pretty brutal.”

 

_Finals?_

 

Even in another universe he couldn’t skip finals. But even still, that was the last thing on his mind. Taking the excuse that was given to him Hiro simply nodded in agreement. Hoping that Tadashi would keep the conversation going before Hiro said something he’d regret.

 

"I'm sorry for running into you." Tadashi apologized. "Did I hurt you?"

 

And there it was... That self deprecating look.

 

"No, you didn't." Hiro answered, rubbing at the soreness in his eye. "You just... Remind me of someone."

 

Seeming to understand the context Tadashi frowned trying his best to look comforting. “For what it’s worth..." He started. "I’m Tadashi." He said, extending his arm out towards Hiro, waiting for the younger boy to take his hand before continuing. “Tadashi Hamada. Have we met somewhere before?”

 

"No... We haven't." Not quite sure what to do with himself Hiro tried for a smile. “I'm Hiro.” It was quick and a bit bitter. He’s glad that Tadashi didn't push for more information besides that. After all, Hiro’s not sure what he’s supposed to call himself.

 

By all accounts he's not Hiro Takachiho. And trying to be Hiro Hamada would be like killing the person who's life he has taken over.

 

“I’ve heard of you before.”

 

“Oh really?” Tadashi sat up, looking genuinely surprised. Which didn't really make sense considering he was on the news. 

 

“Yeah.” Hiro nodded, leaning back in the chair as he began feeling comfortable. Well... As comfortable as he could be having just cried in front of his older brother. But his face no longer feels puffy and hot. So it's a start. “You’re the nerd who designed Baymax.”

 

Letting out a short laugh Tadashi returned Hiro’s jab with a grin. “You heard about that?” He moved to get his own cup of water mindful of Hiro watching him. Resting his arm against the water cooler he turned back to face him. “I didn’t think most people kept up with that kind of news.”

 

“Yeah, well I’m not just anyone.” Hiro stood up, moving to skim over the posters and designs that were hung all over the wall. Tadashi’s eyes trailed after him, watching him curiously. “I’m a robotics major here.”

 

“Robotics?” Tadashi repeated, raising his eyebrow he paused, taking the time to look at Hiro’s features. He sounded impressed. “How old are you Hiro?”

 

Scoffing a bit, Hiro smirked knowing fully well that he probably looked young for his age. Another thing he wished would have changed over the years. “Eighteen.”

 

“Fresh out of high school then?”’

 

“As if.” Hiro huffed, drinking the remaining water in his cup before tossing it in the trash. “I graduated when I was thirteen.”

 

_“Really?”_

 

Liking the disbelief on his brother’s face Hiro grinned. Nodding to himself he couldn’t help but feel full of pride. It wasn’t often that he surprised him. Tadashi had grown up with him, so it’s not like he didn’t understand what Hiro was capable of. “Yup. I took a few years off before applying.”

 

“Wow.” Tadashi smiled. “You must have quite the brain on you.” As if struck with an idea Tadashi moved away from the water cooler and began to move his things out of the way, creating a clear space in the room. “Do you want to see him?”

 

“See what?” Hiro blinked, stepping back to get out of the way. He thought about helping, but he wasn't sure what Tadashi was even doing. 

 

“Baymax.” Tadashi grinned, not really waiting for the younger boy to respond.

 

“B-Baymax...?” Hiro frowned in confusion, glancing around the room rapidly for the charging station. He was surprised when he found it. It was a small blue charging station, exactly the same as the red one he had owned. But the change in color had made him pass over it without a second glance.

 

"W-wouldn't red be a better color for, you know." Hiro stopped to make a flippant hand gesture. "A health care robot?"

 

Tadashi nodded. "That was the plan, but because the design is going to be marketed to the public. Callaghan said that people were going to want Baymax in different colors to make it appealing to children."

 

"I see..." 

 

It was a small change. A tiny insignificant difference, but even so... It made him feel uncomfortable.  

 

Moving the charging station out into the middle of the room Tadashi stepped back, taking a deep breath before saying the seemingly magic word. “Ow.”

 

Watching as the blue square opened up Hiro took a step forward, waiting apprehensively as the sound of inflating air filled the room with a low hum. Taking Hiro’s cautiousness as wonder Tadashi placed a light hand on his shoulder as the blown up robot stepped out of its station.

 

“Go ahead.” He motioned. “You can touch him.”

 

Moving forward Hiro reached out his hand to touch the bot. In the back of his mind he was waiting for Baymax to introduce himself like he normally would have. Looking up into the unblinking eyes he felt unnerved. His confusion must have shown on his face because Tadashi suddenly began speaking again.

 

“This is just the prototype skeleton.” Tadashi explained. “He doesn’t do much yet. His code is being revised by Professor Callaghan. Once that’s cleared I have to condense it down into a chip so that the tests can be run.”

 

“So...” Hiro muttered, remembering the video of Tadashi working day after day on perfecting his bot. The video that had changed him from a vengeful killer to a sad teenage boy. “You’ve... still never tested it?”

 

This wasn’t Baymax.

 

The chip is what made Baymax, well... _Baymax_.

 

“Not really.” Tadashi sighed. “I’m only in my second year here. So I’m not exactly in a rush to put all the pieces together just yet. He’s scheduled to release officially in a year or so. But Callaghan wanted to have the name out there so that I could get more investors.”

 

“Right... I forgot...” Hiro nodded, pretending to be amazed he ran his fingers over Baymax’s arm. He felt out of place again, he hadn’t been with Tadashi through his testing process. Tadashi had only shown him Baymax once he was done. He had wanted the health care robot to be a surprise. “Vinyl?”

 

“Yeah.” Tadashi blinked, startled that Hiro could tell almost immediately. “I was going for a non-threatening kind of look.”

 

“No kidding.” Hiro smiled, pushing his face into Baymax’s stomach to get a better look even though he knew the frame by heart. He might as well humor his brother. “Titanium skeleton?”

 

“It's light.” Tadashi reasoned.

 

“You know, carbon fiber would be a lot lighter.” Hiro offered.  

 

Wow... Tadashi was _very early_ in the development stage.

 

He remembers Tadashi changing over to a carbon fiber model way before Hiro ever even knew Baymax existed.

 

“Carbon fiber...” Tadashi paused. Taking a moment to consider it. He moved over to his desk and scribbled some words onto a piece of paper. “That's genius Hiro!”

 

Beaming at the praise Hiro grinned. As much as he hated to say it, he liked making Tadashi proud of him. “Thanks.”

 

He couldn't have done the things he did without Tadashi. And it was one of those things he should have told him. And he was going to, on the bridge after the showcase but-

 

Taking a deep breath Hiro ran the back of his hand over his eyes. Things were different now. He was different now and he would make it up to his brother. 

 

Turning his attention back to the robot he listed a few other things he could see through the thin white cover. “Nice actuators. Are the made in house?”

 

He remembers Tadashi saying they were. Unless he’s remembering this wrong.

 

“Yeah, one of my friends got them for me.” Tadashi smiled, picking up his clipboard and moving to stand next to Hiro, nudging his shoulder with his pen. “Maybe you'd like to meet them sometime. They'd like you.”

 

Smile dimming beside himself Hiro gripped his shoulder unconsciously. “I hope so...”

 

If nothing else, he hopes they'll give him a second chance.

 

“Cool hyper-spectral cameras.” Hiro muttered. More relieved than disappointed in the fact that they didn't fully function yet. He’s not sure how he feels about there being two Baymax’s. “What's he going to run on?”

 

_Lithium ion._

 

“I was thinking lithium ion.” Tadashi hummed, glancing in Hiro’s direction. “Any thoughts?”

 

Humming as though he was thinking it over, Hiro couldn't help but feel like he had cheated a bit by coming from another past.

 

“Super capacitors charge up faster.” He mentioned, moving to press the button on the charging station in order to manually deflate Baymax. He stepped back just as the robot began to waddle back into it's box.

 

“Right.” Tadashi agreed, liking the feedback from someone who understood him. “Why didn't I think of that?”

 

“Like I said.” Hiro joked, grabbing a lollipop from a bowl next to Baymax’s charging station. Tadashi was probably stilling working out how to store them inside of the giant marshmallow. “I’m a kid genius.”

 

Scoffing at the claim Tadashi set down his notes, running his fingers through his hair briefly in contemplation.

 

It felt a little foreign to see Tadashi without his hat. Though don’t get him wrong, he had seen him without it before around the house. But the knowledge that he would put it on sooner or later never made him get used to the idea of him ever being without it.

 

He also couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by their newfound height difference.

 

He had never been able to look directly at Tadashi’s face without needed to tilt his head up. But now, his eyes were level with the bridge of Tadashi’s nose.

 

“You know...” Hiro began, waiting for Tadashi to pause and look him in the eye before continuing. There's a hopeful wistfulness in his tone that makes the mood seem more intimate than he had originally intended. “He’s gonna help a lot of people.”

 

Maybe it's in the way he said it, but something about his words has Tadashi pausing. His eyes wide and his expression shocked, taken aback like something had just clicked in his head somewhere.

 

Growing steadily uncomfortable with the silent staring Hiro huffed, running his right hand along the length of his left arm, smiling awkwardly.

 

“Uh...”

 

And then Tadashi is smiling, bashful and unreserved. Turning away only to dig around in one of his many drawers. “Are you hungry?”

 

Confused by the seemingly random question Hiro thought about it, shrugging offhandedly. “I guess.”

 

Watching on with curiosity Hiro tilted his head to look over Tadashi’s shoulder. But he straightened up as the older boy turned back around, holding up his keys and shaking them slightly before cupping them in his fist. “As a thank you for your help, how about we go grab some coffee? My aunt owns a cafe downtown if you're interested.”

 

“What cafe?” He's not stupid. But he wants to make sure he’s right before he gets his hopes up.

 

“The Lucky Cat.” Tadashi says, moving to reach for his helmet that Hiro had forgotten existed until now. “You don't have to worry about paying. It'll be on me.”

 

“You mean it'll be on your aunt.” Hiro smirked, taking the helmet that was offered to him before following Tadashi’s lead out the door.

 

“I like to think it's the thought that counts.” Tadashi joked, walking over to main door to scan his access card over the security lock.

 

Stepping out into the joint lab space Hiro can’t help but glance around for anything familiar. But the dark space hardly leaves much to his imagination. He's tempted to reach over and turn on the lights.  

 

“You coming Hiro?”

 

Nodding, Hiro moved to leave. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Wasabi’s tool cart and Gogo’s bike. And for now, it's enough.

 

“Yeah.”

 

But perhaps the biggest change, was that he and Tadashi weren't related anymore. Though, that didn't really mean much. He had always considered Tadashi his closest friend.

 

So what's to say that can't stay the same?

 

“So... Helmets.” Hiro motioned to the headgear in his hand trying to sound unsure. “What do you ride?”

 

“Moped.” Tadashi answered, waving over to the red vehicle parked a short distance ahead of them.

 

“Nice.” Hiro smiled, waiting for Tadashi to hop on before putting on his helmet. At least the moped is still the same color. “You're too nerdy for a motorcycle anyway.”

 

“Says the child prodigy.” Tadashi scoffed. Gesturing for Hiro to get on behind him.

 

Hiro raised his brow, going for a challenging look but dropping it for a smile instead. Letting his tone give away his sarcasm knowing Tadashi couldn't see his face behind the helmet. “I don't know what you're getting at, I’m the coolest person at this nerd school.”

  
“Whatever you say knucklehead."

 

And for the first time in a long time, Hiro laughed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knowing people who don't know you is weird. It's like in high school when your friends tell you all about a person who you've never directly spoken to, but then you suddenly meet them and have to act clueless. Anyone ever have one of those experiences? No? Just me? Okay. 
> 
> Anyway! Thank you all for your support so far, I'm feeling much better now for those of you who care to know. And I'm super happy that you're enjoying the story so far. Until next time my young scientists. :D


	7. Plotting Data Points

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fact that the cafe looks exactly the same is something that both surprises and disappoints him.
> 
> He likes to think he made a larger impact to their lives then he seems to have done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They get to know each other.

The fact that the cafe looks exactly the same is something that both surprises and disappoints him.

 

He likes to think he made a larger impact to their lives then he seems to have done.

 

Looking around the cafe from his seat he can't seem to find any changes.

 

While the scientist within him was documenting these changes, going through his memories to compare the differences in this world. The normal teenage boy within him was still recovering from the constant attacks to his senses.

 

He's been sitting alone in this booth for about ten minutes. But it's enough time for Hiro to get lost in thought.  

 

Seeing Aunt Cass nearly has him breaking down again.

 

When they got to the cafe Hiro knew he had to be careful.

 

Crying in front of Tadashi was one thing. But if he knows anything about Aunt Cass, if he cries she will take him away and make him spill all of the emotional turmoil and insecurities that he’s tried so hard to keep in check. 

 

When she shakes his hand and smiles up at him. He immediately has to step back. Avoiding eye contact with her as he excuses himself abruptly and heads into the bathroom. Purposely ignoring the worried look Tadashi sent him as he ran away.

 

Taking the first empty stall Hiro had pressed his back up against the closed door, trying hard to control his breathing.

 

Letting out short breathless huffs of air he tried to calm his nerves. He hadn’t checked to see if anyone else was in the bathroom before he had closed himself in. But it's not like it mattered. Strangers prefered to stay out of other people’s business anyway.

 

The height difference had initally bothered him when he had first looked at Tadashi, but it wasn’t as drastic of a change. His brother had always been taller than him.

 

But looking at Aunt Cass...

 

He had always looked up to her. Literally and figuratively. But now he was taller, towering over her in a body that was only his in looks.

 

And while Cass looked mostly the same. The change in perspective has him reeling in a swirl of conflicting emotions.

 

For one thing she's happy and completely unaware of what’s happened.

 

It had worked. He had known that the moment he had reunited with Tadashi, but seeing Cass was different.

 

Unlike his brother she had always been there. But the fact that she had introduced herself with a polite smile, shaking his hand firmly as if he was a _total stranger..._

 

But if she knew... or whenever she finds out-

 

Forget it.

 

He was never going to tell them.

 

Sipping at the cup of coffee in his hands Hiro leaned back further into his booth. After splashing some water onto his face he had walked out of the bathroom only half expecting to see Tadashi waiting for him.

 

But instead he’s greeted by the familiar sight of the daily patrons enjoying their lunch breaks. Letting the scene register he turned to look over at the counter, watching as Aunt Cass poured a pot of coffee into a white mug.

 

When she caught his eye she offered the drink to him, saying that Tadashi had gone upstairs to grab some things for her.

 

And maybe it's because he doesn't look her in the eyes as she speaks. But she sets the cup down and waits for him to take it, instead of directly handing it to him like she normally would have.

 

She then had gestured over to the quieter part of the café and told him to take a seat at one of the empty tables while he waited.

 

And maybe his apprehension shows on his face because she doesn't push for him to speak to her.

 

Which is fine, considering the last thing he wants to do is speak with her. 

 

And maybe it's cruel of him to dismiss her completely but everything about her has his heart flooding with so much bitter guilt that it makes him want to vomit. Cass represents his past failures and all the strength he should of had. So it's no wonder he wants to avoid her like a plague. 

 

There was a look in her eye that grabbed his attention. A second of recognition the disappeared as soon as she was called away by a costumer. 

 

Which lead him to his current position.

 

He was leaning on his arm, looking out into the street. He watched as people walked back and forth from store to store, and from street corner to street corner.

 

And maybe it’s because he’s had enough emotional turmoil for today, but he doesn’t want to see the team.

 

He’s no doubt taller than Gogo now, and since Fred was really close to Tadashi’s height he guesses that they’ll almost see eye to eye. He’s just glad that Wasabi and Honey were naturally tall. It made the changes a little more subtle that way. 

 

Hearing footsteps draw closer to him Hiro turned to look over his shoulder. Straightening up as Tadashi approached him, stopping a short step away from the table holding a notebook in his hand. “Is this seat taken?”

 

Shaking his head Hiro took another sip of his coffee to clear his throat, waiting as Tadashi slid into the seat across from him. "Be my guest."

 

He watched as the older boy set the book down onto the wooden table. Glancing over at the cover Hiro tried to make out the words printed on the front. 

 

It was definitely well used if the worn out pages were anything to go by.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Tadashi smiled knowingly, flipping through a few pages indecisively before stopping on a diagram of Baymax. Or at least, a picture that Hiro thought was supposed to be Baymax.

 

“This is my research notebook. It’s where I’ve kept all my notes and ideas for Baymax.” He explained, pointing down at the picture and trailing his finger over the many words and scribbles. “This was one of my original designs when I thought about creating him.”

 

Hiro leaned across the table to get a better look. He was completely interested in reading through the pages. He tried to make out the crossed out words, glancing at the highlighted sentences that stood out through the pages. “ _Woah_. You had some intense AI planned.”

 

He knew first hand how much detail Tadashi had put into building the health care robot. He had modified some of Baymax’s code before, but he had never really realized just how much had gone into making him.

 

“I know.” Tadashi sighed reminiscently, flipping the book upside down so that Hiro could read upright. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know what was written down on each page. “I had to fix a lot of code last year. I wanted Baymax to be completely unique to the person he’s helping. I want him to be more of a friend than a nurse.”

 

Hiro hummed in acknowledgement. Baymax was a completely unique being. In all his years in robotics he had never seen anything like him.

 

Baymax had become Hiro’s support system and family. And yes he was by all definitions a nurse, and his babysitting could get annoying. But there wasn’t anything that Hiro wouldn’t do for him.

 

"Why did you build Baymax?" Hiro asked. But he hesitated for a moment when Tadashi's posture seemed to deflate. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

 

The original Tadashi had built Baymax for Hiro's sake. He was always trying to find a way to take care of him from a distance. Always careful not to smoother Hiro with too much attention even though he had often wanted to. It was a habit he had developed after their parents had died. After all, it had always been the Hamada brothers versus the rest of the world.

 

"No, you're fine." Tadashi crossed his arms leaning forward onto the table, letting his gaze trail off into the street. "I don't mean to disappoint, but I don't really know why I built Baymax. Every SFIT student is required to build a final project, but even before I was admitted I was already designing him. It just felt like the right thing to do."

 

"But you always liked helping out people." Hiro spoke up, drawing Tadashi's gaze back to him in surprise." Hiro lowered his voice, looking down into the black pool of cooling coffee in his cup. "At least, that's what your news article said."

 

Tadashi smiled, letting out a deep breath through his nose. "I do, but something about Baymax was different. I don't really know how to explain it." He frowned, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's like I was building him _for someone._ " He stopped wincing at his own choice of words. "Sorry, if that sounds a little weird." 

 

"No." Hiro shook his head, huffing out a short laugh. He has no problem with it at all. But it has him investing a frightening amount of confidence in the idea that this new lifestyle could be the same as the one he lost. That Tadashi might remember him, in some way. "I'm sorry for asking. I didn't mean to turn this into an interview. You've probably had enough of those. "

 

"What about you?"

 

" _What_ about me?" Hiro answered losing a bit of his confidence. He had hoped the conversation wouldn't drift away from Tadashi. 

 

"You've got a big brain, I'm sure you've gained a lot of attention." Tadashi prompted, waiting patiently for Hiro to talk about himself. 

 

He had gotten a lot of attention. But nothing worth mentioning. His intelligence had only gotten him a dead brother and few news segments. 

 

And besides, as far as he knows. He's a nobody in this timeline.

 

"I don't know many people." Hiro responded bitterly, toying with the handle of his mug in an effort to appear more casual. 

 

It wasn't like he had known many people back in his original universe anyway, this wasn't any different. 

 

"Well, if it helps." Tadashi spoke softly, smiling halfheartedly as his right arm gripped his left shoulder, his wrist brushing up against his cheek as he rested his elbows on the table. "I know too many people. So I guess we're both lonely." 

 

And it sounds so sincere that it makes Hiro freeze. 

 

The universe has never once been kind to him. But that never meant it had been kind to everyone else. 

 

Tadashi had been willing to be open with him, so it's only right that Hiro offers up the same curtisy.  

 

"I..." Hiro coughed, clearing his throat from it's sudden tightness. He wanted so badly to tell Tadashi everything. But they need to start somewhere. "I'm from San Fransokyo. B-But I spent time in Japan for a while before coming back here."

 

He hadn't.

 

But Takachiho had.

 

And maybe sharing this life, this life as _just Hiro_ would be okay. Even though the twists in his stomach tell him otherwise. 

 

"You're Japanese?"

 

"You couldn't tell?" Hiro raised his brow, smirking a bit. At least Tadashi wasn't making that face anymore. 

 

"I prefer not to make assumptions." Tadashi smiled sheepishly. "Cass tried to teach me Japanese growing up, but it didn't stick."

 

"My older brother taught me." Hiro answered, and almost immediately he wanted to take it back.

 

"You have a brother?" 

 

And Tadashi sounds so innocently curious that Hiro feels like the question burns him. 

 

"Y-yeah. I did." Hiro tensed up trying to look at anything else besides Tadashi. "He, uh... passed away when I was fourteen."

 

"Hiro..." Tadashi spoke carefully uncrossing his arms as if he was afraid the shorter boy would burst into tears again. Which was a reasonable guess, considering Hiro was clenching his cup painfully tight. "I'm so sorry." 

 

And even though Hiro had always felt he deserved to hear those words come from his brother's mouth. Something about this felt wrong. "It's fine, I'm fine." He stressed, smiling stiffly to empathize his point. "Thanks." He bit out not liking the pity he was getting.

 

He wasn't ready to talk about that just yet. 

 

"So, um." Hiro muttered, leaning back into his seat. "Who do you share your lab with?"

 

Wordlessly agreeing to change the topic Tadashi straightened up in his seat, crossing his arms again. "I share a lab with three people, and a science enthusiast."

 

"Science _enthusiast?_ " Hiro grinned, that had to be Fred. "The nerd lab must be pretty uncontrolled."

 

"Nerd lab?" Tadashi snorted. "Oh man, if the guys heard you call it that they might throw a fit." 

 

"They seem nice." Hiro smiled softly. At least some things hadn't changed.

 

"They are." Tadashi agreed, gesturing wordlessly to the notebook they had forgotten. "But they're not big on robots."

 

"I understand." Hiro muttered, turning his attention back to the book under his hands. 

 

The team was great, and there was nothing wrong with them and their interests. But in the end, they never did understand his obsession with building robots. They meant well... He knew for a fact that they meant well. But they couldn't replace Tadashi. 

 

He and his older brother were two side of the same coin. No one had ever been able to keep up with them, which made robotics incredibly solitary. 

 

In Tadashi's case, his intelligence had drawn people to him. It had brought him a lot of admirers and friends that appreciated his work, but couldn't assist him when he needed help, or a second opinion. And in his case, his genius had worked against him. Growing up Hiro had been bullied and pushed aside by those who thought he was just a show off with too much confidence. 

 

It was really no wonder they had relied on each other. 

 

Flipping through the pages of the notebook was like looking back in time. Each page had more crossed out words than the last. Things were circled and arrows were drawn to point at key ideas. Each doodle that Tadashi had drawn gave him a mental picture of the evolution of Baymax.

 

The health care robot had undergone some serious redesigns before getting to where he was.

 

Baymax had gone from hard shell layer to a small almost dog sized design, before looking more human in structure.

 

Each page made Hiro feel like he was getting to know a piece of Tadashi that he hadn’t seen before. He had always known that his brother was creative. And just as smart as he was, if not smarter than him. But after Tadashi entered high school they kind of just stopped working together. And even when they were working on a project together it was mainly Tadashi watching Hiro put the parts together while he acted as a teacher.

 

When they drifted apart academically, they also kind of drew apart physically. As he got older Hiro would be the first to admit that he was hard to handle. He was too embarrassed to show any affection towards his older brother.

 

Siblings, and boys in general aren’t supposed to be open with each other. He had so many unspoken “Thank you’s” and “I’m sorries” that went to the grave. And his stubborn rebelliousness didn’t really help fix that.

 

He was always trying too hard to be someone he wasn’t, and even when his older brother looked tired and frustrated Hiro had never once stopped to consider it.

 

But this time would be different.

 

“Do you need help?” Hiro spoke suddenly, looking up from the journal to meet Tadashi’s gaze. “I mean, I don’t know how much I can add onto him...” He shrunk a bit, taking Tadashi’s expression as a bad sign. Maybe he should stop talking. Afterall, he’s just some random kid who broke down crying in front of a total stranger. “B-but, it’s nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of, ya know?”

 

The silence that followed nearly has Hiro taking it all back, but then out of nowhere Tadashi is grinning.

 

“Yes.” He laughed brightly, sounding relieved and happy.“Yes- yeah, that would be awesome Hiro.”

 

Hiro gave a sheepish smile in return before ducking his head to flip at more pages. He’s glad that he’ll be of some use to his brother. He’s had his fair share of trials with Baymax and he knows now what works and what doesn’t.

 

“How long have you been working on him?”

 

“Hm?” Tadashi paused taking a moment to think about it. “I think it’s about eight years now. I thought about Baymax while I was in middle school. But I didn’t start building until after I graduated high school.”  

 

“So, you’re twenty then?” Hiro asked, frowning a bit to himself. So Tadashi had also aged by two years...

 

“Is that old?” Tadashi winced, watching the way Hiro scrunched his nose at the thought.

 

“Not really.” He shook his head, looking over at his now cold cup. “I thought you were younger. I guess you’re just naturally good looking for your age.”

 

Hiro smiled, huffing out a short laugh as Tadashi flushed. He was probably embarrassed, he had always been bad at taking compliments. Even when they were younger Tadashi had shied away from people who complimented him. But he never seemed to have any problem praising other people.

 

By all accounts Tadashi was a great guy. He was well built and polite. And Hiro had always wanted to be like him when he got older.

 

Aunt Cass used to make fun of him for being so shy when it came to relationships. As far as he knew Tadashi had never had a girlfriend. Which was a shame considering it probably would have helped him gain more confidence in himself.

 

Maybe he should finally figure out how to set him up with Honey.

 

“So...” Tadashi raised his hand to grasp the back of his neck, clearing his throat. He smiled confidently to draw attention away from the blush staining his cheeks. “About lunch.”

 

Hiro turned to look over at Cass, watching as she set a plate down over at a nearby table before turning her head towards them.

 

“You know.” Hiro sighed. “I should be the one to buy you lunch. You didn’t ignore me when I broke down on campus.” The _‘even though you should have’_ is pretty clear in his tone. But honestly, Hiro’s not even sure why he’s offering.

 

He doesn’t have any money.

 

“Don’t worry about that.” Tadashi waved him off. “I wanted to help you. Besides, I was the one who ran into you in the first place.”

 

“Thanks. But still...” Hiro fidgeted. He never liked taking advantage of people’s offers. He was a pretty independent person. Plus considering what he’s done he basically needs to pay Aunt Cass back.

 

Tadashi cut him off with a careful smile, waving over his Aunt before turning back to face Hiro. Hesitating as he chose his words carefully. “If it really bothers you, then I guess you can pay for lunch next time.”

 

Hiro blinked, letting the sentence process in his mind. _Next time?_ “Okay, sure.”

 

“It’s a date then.” Tadashi grinned.

 

Hiro nodded absentmindedly, watching as Cass set down a menu for him. “How are you two boys doing?”

 

“Great.” Hiro smiled stiffly, flinching as she pat his shoulder.

 

And if Cass noticed his strange behavior, she didn't mention it. Simply moving to stand closer to Tadashi while still facing Hiro. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat here at the cafe.” Cass noted before she pointed down at the menu to draw his eyes to it. “Do you have any allergies Hiro?”

 

“I’m allergic to peanuts.” Hiro mentioned offhandedly. Considering that the menu was exactly the same as he remembered it, then none of the food had peanuts anyway.

 

“Oh good.” Cass grinned. “My sister is allergic to peanuts too, so all my food is peanut free.”

 

Hiro froze.

 

“She... _is?_ ”

 

_Tadashi had parents?_

 

Well, of course he had parents... but...

 

“Oh yeah.” Cass nodded. “She hasn’t been here in years but all my recipes have stayed the same. It’s good for business to be peanut free.”

 

“Oh...” Hiro paused. “Um.. I’ll have some hot wings if it’s not too much trouble.”

 

“Not at all! All I need is twenty minutes and it’ll be done.” Cass shook her head, writing the order down with a practiced speed. “Just to warn you though, my hot wings will melt your face off. I know how to make a mean sauce.” She joked, and Hiro went along with it willingly. Though he shied away from her hand. Just looking at her made his stomach sink with remorse. 

 

“I look forward to it.”

 

Watching her leave Hiro sat quietly, smile dropping from his face.

 

_Parents._

 

He was jealous.

 

Unreasonably and completely jealous.

 

Seeming to notice the sudden change in Hiro’s behavior Tadashi stood up from his seat to draw Hiro’s attention to him.

 

“I want to show you something.”

 

Unsure, Hiro followed along hesitantly. Standing up and following Tadashi up the set of stairs he knew well. Knowing where this was going Hiro walked slowly, taking each step carefully as he looked at the pictures on the wall. Though none of them had Aunt Cass’s _“sister”_

 

Stepping out into the kitchen and living room of his old house Hiro paused, glancing around curiously.

 

There it was.

 

Stepping up to the picture frame set on a desk in the far side of the room, Hiro took it in his hands. He knew this place like the back of his hand. But he needed answers. It doesn't matter if he seems rude.

 

These were _their parents._

 

And of course it was.

 

Tadashi had kept Cass, the Cafe, the Robot, and just about everything they shared. Meanwhile he was stuck parent-less, a child of two people who he had never met before. The only thing he, as in Takachiho, really had going for him was his career as a robotic engineer.

 

Turning to Tadashi for some kind of explanation Hiro toyed with the wooden frame between his fingers.

 

“My parents are divorced.” Tadashi started, looking at the photo in Hiro’s hand.. “They had me too young and drifted apart. Somethings lead to another and my mom lost custody of me. So I’ve lived here with my Aunt since I was nine.”

 

“Sorry...” Hiro mumbled setting the photo down back in it’s place. “If it helps.” He shrugged feeling completely aloof. “My parents are dead.”

 

Tadashi stiffened. His mouth falling open slightly before closing. He smiled softly gesturing up to the second set of stair that lead to his room. “Come on.”

 

Hiro moved to go after him, holding the railing tightly, trying to take comfort from its familiarity.

 

The door of the room was exactly as he remembered it. It was a plain white door that had a lock on the inside. There was nothing particularly special about it. But it made Hiro feel anxious just standing in front of it.

 

He stepped back as Tadashi opened the door. Closing his eyes Hiro snapped them open when he heard the door knob clink against the wall as it swung back.

 

Stepping inside Hiro’s eyes immediately picked up the differences.

 

There was a distinct absence of mess and childish toys and knickknacks. Everything that was his was gone. And it feels like he’s been forgotten.

 

There is only one bed in the room off to the side where his bed should have been, leaving the window that used to be Tadashi’s unblocked but it was covered by that stupid pastel curtain.

 

He had never notice how large their room was.

 

There’s a lot more space in here. And he momentarily wonders if Tadashi just builds in here now that there’s enough space to do so. The basement was a joint lab that really only existed because there was no space anywhere else.

 

He had always known that Tadashi was organized, but he had never taken into account how immaculate he could have kept his things. Maybe knowing that Hiro would eventually get into his stuff and trash it made him lose motivation for cleaning.

 

Rubbing at his arm uncomfortably Hiro moved around the room.

 

_It looked so different._

 

There aren’t any comic books or posters anywhere to be seen, and the joint laptop that they used to share was now replaced with one black laptop free of robot and dragon stickers.

 

“Where’s Mochi?”

 

“Mochi?” Tadashi questioned, tilting his head in confusion.

 

Hiro flinched, heart beat stuttering. He messed up. “Y-yeah.” Maybe he could recover from this. But what if they didn’t own a cat? What then? “T-the cat... when y-you were upstairs, I heard a guy say something about a cat. I assumed it was yours.”

 

Tadashi nodded trusting his word. “Yeah, Mochi is over in Cass’s room. We put him in there before lunch. Otherwise he likes to bother the customers until they feed him.”

 

“Oh.” Hiro mumbled, trying to move away from the topic as fast as possible. “What did you want to show me?”

 

Tadashi blinked as if suddenly remembering. He moved over to the window grabbing both sides of the curtains and pulling them apart in a fluid motion.

 

Hiro gasped.

 

Stepping towards the window he felt awestruck. He had forgotten how the buildings looked in the evening. The city came alive at night. Which was one of the reasons why he was so drawn to bot fights.

 

The neon colors painted the town in lights and action. But the horizon over the ocean contrasted the harsh colors in a soothing blue that softened the fast pace lifestyle.

 

In his time back in his original reality Hiro had never once looked out the window after Tadashi died. Preferring to stay secluded and in the dark. They often spent nights looking outside together when they were younger.

 

Hiro remembered sitting on Tadashi’s bed while he lazily pointed out constellations after a tiring day of high school. He had always just leaned out the window, only half listening as Tadashi rambled on.

 

“What do you think?” Tadashi asked, moving to lean on the window frame. His arms crossed over his chest. “Do you feel better?”

 

“Yeah.” Hiro answered breathlessly. “This is amazing. I forgot how cool San Fransokyo looked at night.”

 

Scanning the buildings below Hiro let his eyes wander around the landscape taking in the scenery. He could just make out the window in the building that his apartment-

 

_Baymax._

 

“Crap.” Hiro hissed, spinning around to make his way to the door. _How could he have forgotten about Baymax?_

 

“Is everything okay?” Tadashi asked worriedly.

 

“Yeah.” Hiro nodded, stopping briefly to explain himself. Oh God he hoped Baymax hadn’t gone looking for him. “My-uh.” Scrambling for words Hiro rambled. “M-my dog. Yeah, I left my dog at home and I forgot to feed him when I left. So I kind of need to go. Like, _right now._ ”

 

He really hopes Baymax had finally listened to him for once and was waiting like he had been told.

 

“It’s getting late, do you want me to take you home?”

 

“No, no. It’s okay. I live close by, trust me.” He couldn’t have Tadashi see Baymax. And if the robot was wandering the streets, then Tadashi couldn’t be around to accidentally find him. “I just need to take my box-”

 

Where was-?

 

Oh no.

 

He had left the box back in Tadashi’s lab.

 

_“Unbelievable.”_

 

“We left it in the lab didn’t we.” Tadashi sighed to match Hiro’s irritated groan. “I can swing by and get it for you. I have an access card.”

 

“Seriously, Tadashi it’s okay. I’ll stop by your lab tomorrow and get it. You go eat dinner or whatever. Thank Cass for me.” He said, already heading downstairs as Tadashi trailed after him.

 

Reaching the main entrance to the cafe Hiro scanned around for Cass, frowning a bit when he couldn’t find her. Though he's not even sure why he's bothering to look for her. She's the last person he wants to be around in this timeline. 

 

“Hiro, are you sure?”

 

Hiro paused, trying his best to look less panicked. Tadashi was always worrying, but he wasn’t lying this time. He could literally see his room from the window. “Don't worry about it, it's not far.” He promised, hesitating a bit as he reached to let himself out.

 

He wants to hug him.

 

He wants to stay and spend more time catching up with his brother, but he can’t. He absolutely has to leave right now, but Tadashi is right here in front of him and... God he missed this.

 

The sentiment must show on his face because before he can even turn the doorknob Tadashi is reaching out and ruffling his hair.

  
“I’ll see you tomorrow Hiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the feedback I really enjoy reading your responses to each chapter it gives me a lot of motivation. For those of you who read my other Hidashi fic, let it be known that I am just trying to catch this one up to an equal amount of chapters before I switch back to alternating between writing the two stories. I had a rocky start with this one so I'm trying to ride out this weird obsession I have with this story currently. Please be patient with me and as always, enjoy.
> 
> Is referring to you all as "my young scientist" weird? Thoughts?


	8. Logistics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To say that Hiro was grumpy was a big understatement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got hit with a big brick of writers block. But none the less, here we go again!

To say that Hiro was grumpy was a big understatement.

 

Making his way through the campus parking lot he couldn’t help but contemplate his morning as he sipped carefully at the coffee in his hand. He walked slowly, mindful of the groggy students who were driving past him as they looked for a decent place to park.

 

His problems had begun the moment he had left the cafe.

 

The fact that he had to run was probably one of the worst, if not _the worst_ thing he did last night. But it wasn’t the only thing that was coming back to bite him this morning. Even if the ache in calves acted up as he walked.

 

He took some pride in the way he had skillfully avoided a head on collision with a stranger as he sprinted through town. He was sure that everyone probably thought he was being chased, considering how unapologetically he shoved past people. But it’s not like he had the time to explain himself. Even though he had hoped Baymax had stayed put, a part of him knew that it was unlikely.

 

Baymax was a completely unique being. He had, for the most part, a free will and was able to do things for himself. So what’s to say that he hadn’t left the room and decided to do some exploring.

 

Or worse.

 

He had gone _looking_ for Hiro.

 

The idea that Baymax had gone looking for him wasn’t exactly what had worried him. What worried him was the fact that he couldn’t track Baymax’s exact location now that he didn’t have a phone. Baymax could have been _literally anywhere_.

 

Plus it didn’t help his nerves knowing that Baymax was slowly uncharging as time passed. The last thing he wanted was his healthcare robot waddling drunkenly into trouble. Even when he had a fully charged battery Baymax was a safety hazard to himself.

 

So naturally when he stumbled into the room and didn’t see the robot, he panicked.

 

Even though he knew the city like the back of his hand the silence was unnerving. But for the most part Hiro had been glad that it was dark outside so no one would be able to see him drag Baymax home.

 

It took him a little over two hours of mindless searching before he realized where Baymax was.

 

It had been sometime past midnight when he had finally jogged his way back to the apartment complex. Even just recalling it now made Hiro feel a mix of relief and annoyance.

 

On one hand he was glad that Baymax had been in Ms. Matsuda’s room the entire day. But on the other hand he was irritated by the fact that he had wasted a bunch of time running around the town whispering Baymax’s name. He doesn’t even remember how long it took him to get back, but all that he really remembers is Ms. Matsuda pulling him into her room and offering him a cup of coffee.

 

As it turned out Ms. Matsuda had gone looking for him to see if Hiro could help her with some chores around her flat. But when Baymax had answered the door and told her that Hiro wasn’t home, she was more than content to take his robot.

 

And while Hiro would have normally been annoyed by people taking his things, he couldn’t find it in him to be angry.

 

Pushing his hair back with his fingers Hiro couldn’t help but wonder if Takachiho dedicated some of his time to helping out Ms. Matsuda. And even if he didn't, the fact that she would just assume he would be home said a lot about him as a person.

 

But to be fair, Hiro didn’t necessarily have the best social life either. Though the fact that Takachiho chose to be alone was something he would probably need to look into once he gets the stuff back from Tadashi.

 

Picking up his pace Hiro willed himself to ignore the pounding in his head, trying desperately to blink the sleepiness out of his eyes as he got closer to the robotics building. Looking down at his cup Hiro groaned, he would need to find more coffee soon. Otherwise he wasn’t going to be able to survive the next few hours.

 

Somewhere along the way during his tired rambling last night he had accidently muttered something about needing a computer for schoolwork, and Ms. Matsuda had been more than willing to let him use hers.

 

A part of him felt guilty for lying to her, especially when she had dragged Baymax out of the spare room to make sure Hiro wasn’t distracted. She muttered something about making brain fuel for breakfast as she closed the door behind her after wishing him a goodnight.

 

She probably thought he had done some homework before falling asleep, but no. From the moment he had sat down he had spent four consecutive hours illegally breaking into a multi-million dollar database owned by the most smartest man alive- scratch that, owned by the second smartest man alive.

 

It had taken him about two hours to finally start finding his way into the system. Though don’t get him wrong, it wasn’t like he was slow or anything. As much as Hiro likes to pride himself on his robotic skills, hacking into the institute’s private staff database was no easy task. Especially when he was stuck using Ms. Matsuda’s ancient desktop computer that could barely even support internet explorer.

 

Hiro’s initial plan had been to use Takachiho’s laptop, but since he had left it in Tadashi’s lab he had to find some other way to get access. And sure he could have just waited to get it back, but considering the fact that he had already met Tadashi meant that he needed to have Takachiho’s school information check out. He had already made a terrible first impression, so he needed to be careful not to raise anymore suspicion.

 

Hiro had removed all incident reports regarding the lab accident from Callaghan's personal desktop. He was incredibly relieved when he noticed that all of the emails were still unread. Callaghan was probably on a business trip or something like that. But it’s not like going through Callaghan's stuff was all that complicated, he had done something like that before.

 

After Tadashi’s death he had taken all of his old professor’s things. He had searched through Callaghans files to get all his information about how to go about building the portal. It’s kind of funny though, he hadn’t expected for the passwords to still work in this alternate dimension. But it’s not like he was complaining.

 

The first thing he did was write out an email directed to all of Takachiho’s professors, the admissions staff, and the financial aid office stating that Hiro Takachiho was alive and will be resuming classes within the upcoming week. He threw in a few line briefly mentioning Krei just to seem believable. He took his time to use up the remaining characters by rambling on about exaggerated media reports and how Hiro Takachiho is perhaps the greatest, most brilliant student to have ever come to SFIT.

 

If he had more time he would have had some fun and directed a very generous private scholarship from Callaghans bank account to his name. But each time he pressed a letter the keyboard shook like he was pounding on it with a hammer. So Hiro was paranoid about waking Ms. Matsuda as it got to be extremely early in the morning. And besides, bank deposits were a little harder to cover up with code.

 

Finishing the email off with an official letterhead and electronic signature Hiro double checked his work, making sure that he hadn’t accidently typed Hamada instead of Takachiho in any of his sentences.

 

Before hitting send he opened up a new tab and revised his code for the final time. He had messed with Callaghan’s email so that all replies and messages regarding Takachiho would be filtered over into Hiro’s personal email, but they would still appear to be sent and replied back to by Callaghan.

 

It was tricky, but he needed to be kept in the loop somehow. And if anything, he’d rather die than have to work this out face to face with Callaghan. It would be easier to just show up at Callaghan office and have him sort this out the official way. Hiro could just claim that it was just a terrible mistake. Afterall, it’s not like they know each other anymore. But that doesn’t change the fact that Hiro still remembers. And he’d rather stay out of Callaghan’s way for as long as possible.

 

Last night he momentarily debated testing out of his first year courses. He was bored going through them the first time around, so a second time would be torture. But at the same time it would be more of a hassle than it’s worth. He’d have to deal with more staff and extra exams. And after what he’s been though Hiro thinks he deserves a break from learning for a while. Besides, he’s curious to see how Takachiho’s classmates respond to him.

 

For all Hiro knows, maybe Takachiho was popular and had a fair amount of friends. But he likes to think that they were similar in that respect. That kind of thought made him feel like less of a failure.

 

When he had finished Hiro didn’t shut down the computer immediately, he waited a few minutes to see of any of the SFIT staff responded to his email. After ten minutes of nothing Hiro cursed as he checked the time, shutting down the computer before plopping down onto the small couch in the corner of the room.

 

He had only slept for an hour before he had to get up and head to his- no.

 

Tadashi’s lab.

 

Walking up the small set of steps Hiro pulled open the door and stepped inside, tossing his cup into the nearby trashcan as he made his way over to the elevator. Leaning heavily against the wall as he pushed the floor button without much thought.

 

This time around he had put Baymax under Ms. Matsuda’s watch. She was the only person he trusted to keep an eye on him. He doubts she would go showing him off to anyone else. Aside from Cass, he doesn’t remember her being close to anyone.

 

She had always treated him and Tadashi as her grandchildren, buying them gifts on the holidays and congratulating them on every and all achievement.

 

In a way, it was sad to think how little he had known about her. Even more so now that she was practically Takachiho’s guardian.

 

Another thing he had to worry about was Krei. Even in his old timeline he knew nothing about Alistair Krei personally. Though Takachiho had worked for him for a while so they must be close to some extent. Though Hiro’s personal opinion of the entrepreneur is less than ideal, he doesn’t hate him as much as Callaghan, but he still strongly dislikes him none the less.

 

Stepping out of the elevator Hiro took a second to straighten out his clothes and fix his hair. He felt anxious as he walked down the white hall, nervousness settling in his stomach as he passed by the other lab doors. Pushing the blue double doors aside he stepped in careful not to touch anything as he walked up to Tadashi’s personal room.

 

Another reason he hadn’t gotten the proper amount of sleep last night was because he had spent his time lying in bed running scenarios in his head about how he was going to approach the team. There was no guarantee that he would even be seeing them today, but the chance that he could was enough to cause him to stress about it. Though looking around he had freaked himself out for nothing.

 

The lab was basically empty.

 

Taking a deep breath Hiro steadied himself, hoping that he didn’t look nearly as fatigued as he felt. Raising his hand hesitantly he knocked on the door. Determined to not let his emotions take over this time around.

 

Hiro stepped back when the white walls suddenly became see through and he came face to face with Tadashi.

 

He's not sure if he'll ever tire of seeing his brother. 

 

Offering up a nervous smile he gave a halfhearted wave as his brother flashed him a bright smile instantly melting away Hiro’s worries. He waited for a few seconds as the wall changed back to it’s original white color before the door clicked open.

 

“Hey.” Hiro greeted, stepping inside the lab as Tadashi gestured him in. He was caught off guard when he noticed Baymax out of his station. But he made a note of that fact for later. 

 

“Hey Hiro.” The older boy said, moving to give him a better look around. “You’re early.”

 

Hiro messed with the sleeve of his sweater looking apologetic. “Yeah, sorry.” He paused, glancing around briefly. Much to his relief everything still looked the same. “Is this a bad time?” He would have shown up later if he had known, but it’s not like he had a phone or anything to ask beforehand. A few more hours of sleep sounded wonderful right about now.

 

“No, it’s fine. I’m just surprised, I didn't take you for a morning person. It must be a pretty important box of stuff.” Tadashi joked, but he frowned a bit when he took a moment to scan Hiro’s face noting the dark crescents under his eyes. “Want some coffee?”

 

Hiro scoffed. “I’m not a morning person, _trust me_.” Rubbing at his eyes he tried to appear more awake, though it was a pretty pointless attempt. “I’d love some coffee though, thanks.”

 

“No problem.”

 

Hiro watched as Tadashi moved away from him, making his way over to the back of his room where Hiro knew he had a coffee machine beside his bookshelf. Momentarily alone Hiro took his chance to step out into the joint lab space, looking closely at each one of his friend’s work stations.

 

Gogo’s bike was hung up on its rack, the wheels were still as thin and as sharp as he remembered them.

 

Raising his hand up Hiro couldn’t help but smile at the sound the magnets made. All her tools were hung up on the black wooden wall she had made herself. Before the accident Tadashi had told him how Gogo had spray painted the wooden board inside, making the place reeked of paint for a week.

 

Stepping away he trailed his hand along the rejected disks that she had thrown into the blue recycle bin. Gogo had always been her worst critic.

 

Moving along he paused a footstep away from Wasabi’s caution tape. The first time he had been in here he had nearly walked into the lasers.

 

Looking around he picked up an eraser off of Gogo’s desk, tossing it up through the green rays and watching as it broke apart and fell like leaves. Just like the apple had done when Wasabi first showed him how the lasers worked.  

 

A part of him was tempted to move Wasabi’s tools out of their outlined areas. But considering that they weren’t friends yet, he doubts it would leave a good first impression.

 

Careful not to nudge the red tool cart Hiro walked over to Honey’s lab.

 

Dragging his fingers along the pink and yellow residue that he found splattered on her tables he brought the material closer to his face taking a second to look it over.

 

Honey must have been be testing out her Tungsten Carbon ball. “Chemical metal embrittlement.”

 

“You got that from a bit of pink dust?”

 

Startled Hiro stepped back quickly, embarrassed to have been caught snooping around. "It's just a guess.” He explained, wiping his hand on his pants before reaching out to take the warm cup from Tadashi’s hand. "You guys are doing some amazing work in here."

 

“We _nerds_ are pretty impressive.” Tadashi smiled, gesturing around proudly. “I can’t really tell you much about what everyone else is working on, but they’ll be here in a few hours if you’re interested in meeting them.”

 

Looking down at his wrist watch Hiro paused, it was going to be seven soon. “What time do they get here usually?” Maybe a scheduled meeting would be better than meeting them randomly around the school. It would lessen the blow on his nerves.

 

“Wasabi tries to always get here at eight to organize his things. But the rest of the gang doesn’t show up until after class.”

 

“Did you say Wasabi?” Hiro joked, knowing fully well who Tadashi was referring to.

 

“Fred comes up with the nicknames, though Honey helps.” He explained, leaning against Honey Lemon’s counter.

 

“What’s your nickname?” Hiro asked, he doesn’t even remember if Tadashi had one. He doesn’t think so. But if he did the gang hardly used it.

 

“I don’t have one.” Tadashi paused, his eyebrows creasing as he gave it some thought. Shrugging after a minute he spoke again. “Everyone just calls me either Tadashi or Hamada.”

 

Humming a bit in acknowledgement Hiro took a drink of the coffee he had been given. Surprised when he realized that Tadashi had taken the time to sweeten it for him. “How about Dashi.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Dashi, you know. Like a shorter version of Tadashi.” Hiro offered. “It’s not really a nickname, but it’s easy to remember since it’s a soup.”

 

Hiro smirked a bit, watching as Tadashi processed the statement with a surprised look on his face.

 

“I remind you of _soup?_ ” Tadashi questioned in disbelief pretending to be offended, though the grin on his face told Hiro otherwise. 

 

Shrugging casually in response Hiro tried to hide his smile behind his cup as Tadashi laughed standing up straight as he pushed himself off the work desk, moving to face Hiro. “If it makes you happy, call me whatever you want.”

 

"Noted." Hiro smiled. "I forgot to ask, what are you doing here anyway?"

 

"I was just messing around with Baymax's skeleton." Tadashi explained. "I'm usually the first one in the labs since I monitor the projects done in here." He moved to clean off a bit of the pink dust. "What about your lab Hiro?"

 

"My lab?"

 

"Yeah. Robotics students usually get first picks for lab spaces since this is more of a tech school." 

 

Hiro took a long drink from his cup. Unsure if he should tell the truth, but it's not like he'd be inviting Tadashi to Takachiho's lab anytime soon. "I work in the applied physics building."

 

"What?"

 

"Yeah um... I have a space in there. It's not that great." He tried to downplay his previous statement without sounding too uncomfortable. 

 

"You're kidding..." Tadashi said in disbelief, eyes wide. "That's amazing Hiro! You must be working on some serious projects."

 

"Pretty serious..." He joked tensely. Glad for once that Tadashi was good at picking up his social cues. 

 

Controlling his enthusiasm Tadashi clasped at the back of his neck nervously. "You know, you're welcome to come hang out in here whenever you feel like it."

 

Shifting on his feet Hiro raised he brow in surprise. "Are you sure your friends will be okay with that?" As much as he likes to think the gang will accept him again, he shouldn't get his hopes up.

 

"Definitely." He reasured. "They'll love you."

 

"How do you know?" Hiro bit at his lip. Asking as though Tadashi knew what he had done to them.

 

"Because _I_ like you." Tadashi mused. But there was certain seriousness in his tone that Hiro felt was out of place. When Hiro didn't react, Tadashi looked down at his shoes breifly before giving a sheepish smile as he brought his gaze back up. "I mean, they trust my judgment." 

 

Taking the gesture for what it was worth Hiro gave a small smile. "Thanks Tadashi."

 

He felt like a kid again.

 

Growing up he had be bullied and afraid of being rejected by his peers. And this situation felt no different. Just like when Hiro was starting kindergarten and refused to let go of Tadashi's leg. His older brother had leaned down encouraged him like this. Reasurring him that there was nothing to worry about. 

 

It had been the same during the showcase. When he been nervous that something would go wrong. That Callaghan wouldn't be impressed by him. 

 

_"Hey, you got this."_

 

Letting out a small yawn and rolling back his shoulders Hiro looked around suddenly remembering why he had even come in the first place. "Hey, where did I leave my stuff?”

 

“I left your box in my lab space.” Tadashi explained, moving around Hiro to head back into his room. Hiro followed after him but he stopped outside the door frame. Peering into the room before stepping back as Tadashi came back out holding the package in his hands. “It’s a heavy box, do you want me to help you carry it?”

 

“Nah, I got it. I may not look strong, but I assure you. I work out.” Hiro set his cup down on one of the lab tables, careful to make sure it wouldn’t tip over before he reached his arms out and took the box into his own arms.

 

Huffing out a short laugh Tadashi crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t doubt it.” He paused for a moment watching as Hiro adjusted his grip. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

 

Stilling for a moment Hiro hesitated. What was he supposed to tell him? That he spent the entire night chasing Baymax before hacking into Callaghan’s staff email? “No, I was, uh, studying for a test that I have today.”

 

“You know, you’d do much better if you actually got some sleep before a test.” Tadashi frowned, worry making it’s way across his features. “All nighters aren’t good for you.”

 

“Neither is coffee, but you gave me some anyway.” Hiro argued. He winced at the irritated tone in his voice, feeling apologetic as he let out a deep sigh hoping to keep his remarks to a minimum. “Sorry...”

 

Tadashi looked like he was going to respond but instead he blinked in surprise. Straightening his posture are he looked at something behind the younger boy.

 

“Lecturing someone about all nighters, is like the pot calling the kettle black Mr. Hamada.”

 

Flinching at the sound of the familiar voice Hiro turned around, more startled than anything else. And for a second he couldn’t help but wonder if he was dreaming.

  
“P-Professor Callaghan...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay I got a busy these past few weeks not to mention I didn't know how I wanted to go about this chapter. But I like the end result. This chapter goes out to Julianna and Trescetofecyty who kindly reminded me that I had to update. :D 
> 
> On a side-note, how about that cliffhanger? Are you ready for the sass Hiro is about to dish out?


	9. The Repulsion between Electrons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The universe was basically dancing on Tadashi’s tombstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not smart enough to write conversations between Callaghan and Hiro. 
> 
> Always check your sources kids.

If he was in a bad mood before, then Hiro was feeling absolutely terrible now.

 

“Hiro, this is Professor Callaghan.” Tadashi smiled getting past his initial surprise as he moved to stand beside Hiro. “My mentor. Though, you probably already know all about him.”

 

Rooted in place Hiro stared down at the hand being extended out to him feeling completely at a loss. Unbelievably tense he strengthened his grip on his box. Not making any move to put it down so that he could shake Callaghan's hand.

 

“Yeah...” He muttered. Hiro could distinctly feel the dread prickle through his stomach, rising steadily though his arms before fading in a chill through his shoulders.

 

They’ve met like this before, he remembers. The setting is the same, it's just the three of them in this room standing face to face like this. But for the first time since he’s been thrust into this situation, the similarity brings him little comfort.

 

“You’re Robert Callaghan...” Hiro began again. He could almost feel the adrenaline pound through his nerves. Licking his lips Hiro tried to keep his voice steady. “As in, the Callaghan Laws of Robotics... magnetic bearing servos...”

 

_“Blood type AB-” Baymax had said, finger raised as though he was reciting a fact. “-weight is 173 pounds. Diagnosis: Acute stress disorder, High risk of cardiovascular disease and emotional instability.”_

 

Retracting his hand back with a content smile Callaghan gave him a small nod of acknowledgement, deciding that the expression on Hiro’s face was one of starstruck wonder. “It’s always a pleasure to meet a fan of my work.”

 

And before he can even think about stopping himself, Hiro recoiled. “I’m not.” He bit out, finality in his voice.

 

He could practically see Tadashi flinch from the corner of his eye. The older boy turned to look at him with wide eyes, absolute disbelief painted across his face.

 

Two years ago, he had admired Callaghan almost as much as he looked up to Tadashi. The man was the figurehead of robotics and self made success. Everything about him appealed to his genius brain, he inspired Hiro to push the boundaries of science. He had made Hiro believe that he had the potential to strive away from late night bot fights.

 

He _had_ been a fan.

 

A blindly faithful one to boot.

 

All things considered, the idea was just insulting now.

 

“Well...” Callaghan began, momentarily stunned as he crossed his arms over his chest in defense. The silence that followed only made the atmosphere feel more awkward. “I... Well I appreciate your honesty young man.” His smile was reserved as his gaze flickered from Tadashi and then back to Hiro. “Are you a student here by chance?”

 

Internalizing his surprise at the question Hiro tried to maintain his cool, hoping to look more indifferent than he was currently feeling.

 

So Callaghan had no idea who Takachiho was.

 

“Freshman.” He answered dismissively, shifting his hold on his box and purposely avoiding Tadashi’s hard gaze.

 

“Which department?” Callaghan asked curiously, as if his answer was somehow important. Like it was some defining factor that would determine the measure of his intelligence.

 

Hiro hesitated, there was no reason not to just tell him. Callaghan would find out eventually, this was his school afterall. But that didn’t change the fact that Hiro couldn’t trust him. Trusting Callaghan with his work was the reason his life had fallen apart in the first place.

 

_“Your microbots are an inspired piece of tech.” Callaghan had said after the showcase, pushing past Krei to draw Hiro’s attention to him, a congratulatory look in his eyes before they turned unbelievably cold. “You can continue to develop them, or you can sell them to a man who is only guided by his own self interest... This is your decision Hiro. But you should know, Mr. Krei has cut corners and ignored sound science to get where he is.”_

 

Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder how things would have changed if he had just sold the microbots to Krei Tech then and there. Or even better, if he had never built them in the first place.

 

“I’m undecided.” He muttered apprehensively. And if Tadashi wasn’t staring at him before, he definitely was now.

 

Callaghan studied Hiro’s expression, an unreadable look on his face. “Is-”

 

“Did- Did you need something Professor Callaghan?” Tadashi cut in, speaking clearly and slowly to try and bring the old man’s attention back to him. “You just came back from the New York robotics convention, right? I wasn't expecting you to stop by.”

 

“Oh, yes.” Callaghan nodded, letting himself be distracted as he uncrossed his arms and turned his back to Hiro. Making it known that he had dropped their conversation. 

 

But Hiro made no move to leave. He simply set the box down on Honey Lemon’s desk and stood by it, watching quietly.

 

He refused to leave Callaghan alone with Tadashi. That was one mistake he wasn't going to be making twice in the same lifetime. 

 

Callaghan’s presence warranted a serious amount of caution from him. The weariness he felt was something that wouldn’t go away anytime soon.  

 

“Before I unpack and settle back into my routine, I would like to return this.” Reaching into his pocket he held the chip between his fingers. Even standing behind him Hiro could see the sticker of a smiley face on the side.

 

But from where he was it was hard to see Tadashi’s name written in bold letters, but he knew it was there anyway. He had held that exact same chip in his hand a thousand times.

 

“Your coding was incredibly well done. There were slight conflicts here and there, but overall you have my approval to commence testing.”

 

“Thank you professor.” Tadashi grinned at the praise, relief in his eyes as he nodded taking the green chip into his hand.

 

"But actually...” He hesitated, sending a brief glance in Hiro’s direction before turning back. Unsure if he should bring him back into the conversation. “I think I’ll have to put testing on hold for a while longer.”

 

Surprised Callaghan paused. “Why is that?”

 

“I’m making some changes to Baymax’s design.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“I’m changing the material of his skeleton, carbon fiber would be lighter.” He reasoned. “The removal of some of his weight would give me more flexibility when adding in super-capacitors instead of lithium ion batteries as his power source."

 

Giving the idea some thought for a few seconds Callaghan offered up his opinion. “Capacitors suffer from cost, storage, and weight problems.” He rebutted. “They're not as indispensable as lithium ion batteries. How do you plan on accounting for the excess weight to Baymax’s skeleton?”

 

"Just reinforce the carbon fiber with kevlar.” Hiro spoke up, arms crossed over his chest. He straightened up as Callaghan turned back towards him.

 

"Excuse me?"

 

“Hybrid fabric combines all the advantages of carbon fiber and kevlar. A combo of the two would result in a material that has a high strength-to-weight ratio and dimensional stability." Hiro mumbled. "Plus it makes for a greater impact, abrasion, and fatigue resistance.”

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that kevlar is expensive.” Callaghan challenged, watching Hiro wearily as if he hadn't been expecting him to respond. 

 

“That hardly matters. The way I see it Baymax will pay for himself.”

 

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

 

Hiro scowled, he hated having people question him. “Look, don’t get me wrong. Lithium ion works fine for remote control cars, but not for a health companion. It just isn’t reasonable.”

 

“We’re talking about a health care machine that will never be within a few feet of it’s charging station. Charging time is the least of our worries at our current stage.” Callaghan argued. “The battery life is hardly an issue for all intended medical purposes."

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hiro snapped in disbelief, pushing off the counter and taking a few steps closer he squared his shoulders. Anger and irritation collecting in his throat. "Time is the only thing that matters!"

 

"Hiro-"

 

"Taking, what-?" Hiro mussed out loud ignoring his brother's warning. "Five to ten minutes to charge is absolutely crazy!" He huffed, growling when Callaghan opened his mouth to rebuttal. 

 

"If-"

 

Cutting him off he started again. 

 

"People typically pass out after two minutes without oxygen. A person can lose 40% of their blood in the time it takes for Baymax to charge back up!” Gaze hardening he continued through clenched teeth. “Not to mention it takes less than ten minutes for a person to die in a fire.” He bit out staring Callaghan dead in the eyes to get his point across. “ _Less than a minute_ if there’s an explosion!”

 

“Baymax is intended for _private use_.” Callaghan shot back, uncrossing his arms and standing at his full height, looking down at Hiro as to not be intimidated. “He will not be used like some kind of superhero to complete tasks outside of a medical institution.”

 

“What about natural disasters?” Hiro growled, hands clenched into fists at his side. “What then, _huh?_ Is Baymax just going to be completely useless outside of a clean hospital?”

 

“Listen son.” Callaghan said seriously, eyes glaring. “I am simply thinking about what’s best for Baymax."

 

"What do _you know_ about what's best for Baymax?" Hiro scoffed. 

 

Patience running thin Callaghan tensed. "I don’t know where this attitude came from, but do you know who I am?”

 

“More than you do.” Hiro bit back, feeling like his cheeks were on fire. His shoulders were tense and prickling with irritation.

 

Callaghan tensed. “What does that-” Taking a moment to collect himself with a dismissive shake of his head he frowned, his voice reprimanding. “I think you should show me some respect.”

 

"Respect?" Hiro let out a short laugh. Bitter and full of arrogance. “The only respectable thing about you is your money.”

 

“Hiro!” Tadashi snapped, confusion and hurt in his eyes. “That’s enough.”

 

Startled Hiro flinched, not use to hearing Tadashi shout. He had almost completely forgotten that Tadashi was here.

 

“Professor Callaghan.” Tadashi cut in, his voice polite but there was an underlying nervousness that Hiro picked up on immediately.

 

He jumped when Tadashi placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back to stand behind him. A closed off expression on his face, but Hiro could feel his discomfort in the force of his grip.

 

“If Baymax had capacitors as a support system then he could go for three times as long without any real consequence. You don’t have to worry about the funding, I’ll figure something out. But with all do respect sir, I’d like to give the new design a try anyway.”

 

Callaghan stood silently for a second before taking a deep sigh, running his hand through his short hair. “Yes-” He nodded. “Yes of course. You are free to do as you wish. Abigail and I look forward to seeing your progress.”

 

_Abigail?_

 

Wait. Hiro froze, feeling all his previous anger flood out of his system only to be replaced with a cold realization.

 

_So Abigail is-?_

 

_No._

 

Hiro huffed, feeling breathless, his eyes wide. 

 

That’s right, _this wasn’t.._.

 

The shame that followed hit him almost immediately.

 

“Thank you Professor.”

 

Giving a small nod of acknowledgement Callaghan picked up a brown coat off of a spare office chair. Hiro hadn’t even realized that he had brought it with him. “I think I’ll take my leave.” He said tiredly, turning his back to the boys as he headed for the exit. “It was... interesting meeting you Hiro."

 

_He wasn't-_

 

“Callaghan wait-” Hiro closed his eyes, breathing heavily through his nose. His resolve died on his tongue the moment the older man met his gaze with a surprised look. Hiro relaxed his posture, looking briefly at Tadashi for some kind of support.  

 

“I’m-”

 

_Sorry?_

 

Hiro breathed, opening his eyes and shifting under the pressure of his own conflicting emotions. His pride and frustration going head to head. “No... um, it was nothing.” He mumbled faintly, gripping at his shoulder. "I was..."

 

Shifting on his feet he turned away, his expression somewhere between horrified and confused. 

 

Staring down at the floor Hiro couldn't help but stare at _his reflection._  

 

No. 

 

_Takachiho's reflection._

 

Suddenly feeling sick to his stomach Hiro stepped back, taking Callaghan's surprise to his advantage he grabbed his box full of Takachiho things and made a beeline for the exit.

 

“Hiro-”

 

He heard Tadashi call after him but he didn’t stop. Tadashi would catch up go him anyway, he probably stayed behind to apologize to Callaghan.

 

He was always cleaning up after Hiro’s mistakes.

 

Embarrassed and feeling conflicted Hiro made his way down the first flight of stairs, not the least bit surprised when he heard a set of footsteps rush towards him a minute later.

 

Letting himself be turned around Hiro looked away from Tadashi’s piercing gaze, the worry was practically seeping off him at this point. He probably had so many questions, but Hiro didn’t feel like answering them now.

 

“Where are you going?” Tadashi panted, his breathing heavy from having run to catch up with him. His grip on Hiro's shoulders was anything but gentle, as if he was expecting Hiro to break away any second now. 

 

“Somewhere.”

 

“What about class?” Tadashi asked, turning so that he could get a better look at Hiro’s face. Eyes moving as if Hiro's expression would give something away. “What about your test?”

 

Test? Hiro shook his head, having forgotten about that lie. “I don’t know.”

 

Not missing a beat Tadashi straightened up. “I’ll go with you.”

 

Not seeing any way to persuade him otherwise Hiro shrugged. “Do whatever you want.”

 

Taking a step back Tadashi nodded to himself. "Okay... " He sighed tiredly taking a moment to pause and reflect. "Okay."

 

The walk to the docks was relatively short. They didn’t speak to each other along the way unless you count Tadashi wordlessly taking the box from his hands. They both walked in silence, contemplating what had happened.

 

The guilt Hiro felt was unwelcome.

 

He knew what he had done was uncalled for, there was no excuse for his behavior back there. At least not for Takachiho, but there was for Hiro Hamada and that was the problem.

 

_He couldn’t be Hiro Hamada here._

 

Callaghan wasn’t the same, he couldn’t be condemned for something that never happened. He had basically just acted like the biggest asshole towards an old man, not to mention _the founder of SFIT._

 

There was no way he wouldn’t be getting any consequences for his little stunt.  

 

Reaching the dock Hiro took a second to sit down, looking out over the water he could see the island, completely untouched and abandoned which made his remorse feel even stronger.

 

Of course the island was abandoned. What was he _expecting_ would happen? 

 

“Your phone is ringing.” Hiro spoke softly after a few minutes, continuing to stare out into the water as Tadashi took a seat beside him, the box of Takachiho things placed behind them.

 

“It’s Honey Lemon.” He answered, not making any move to pick up the call. “They’re probably wondering where I am.”

 

Pulling up his knees to his chest Hiro sighed, wrapping his arms around his legs to make himself smaller. “You can go back.” He started. “I’ll be fine. I’m gonna head home soon anyway.”

 

“Hiro-”

 

"Don't say it, okay?" Frustrated Hiro took a deep breath. He didn’t want to hear it, he knows what he did was wrong. He doesn’t need to be reprimanded for it like some little kid. “About what I said back there, don’t worry about it. I’ll think of something, I'll figure it out later.”

 

“I wasn’t going to lecture you.” Tadashi answered, letting out a sigh of his own. He doesn’t sound angry which draws Hiro’s attention to him for the first time since they walked off campus together. “And I’m not mad either. But did Callaghan... Did he... _do something to you?”_

 

The “ _He killed you."_ is heavy on his tongue, so Hiro has to swallow in order to choke it back. “It doesn’t matter.” He answers instead.

 

And it hurts, because it matters so much.

 

The universe was basically dancing on Tadashi’s tombstone.

 

“None of it matters.” He bites out, hating the way the words taste on his tongue. 

 

The memories will haunt him forever, he doesn’t get any closure. His fears and anxieties are all irrational as far as anyone in this world can tell.

 

“It does to me.”

 

“It’s not even any of your business Tadashi.” Hiro frowned trying to sound stern as he unfolds his legs to sit up straighter. The pressure building behind his eyes does little to help him as Tadashi meets his stare with a look full of wordless support.

 

“Then I’ll make it my business.” He argued, his head tilted towards Hiro, brows furrowed just the slightest bit with his lips pressed together.

 

“Why?” Hiro muttered tiredly. But it's not like he needs an answer. He knows why.

 

“Because I care about you bonehead.” Tadashi answered softly, watching as Hiro looked over at him uncertainly. He had been expecting to see some kind of judgement in the older boy's eyes.

 

And it's such a typical Tadashi answer that Hiro can't help but give him a reluctant smile. 

 

_"Someone has to do it!” He had said, apologetic and scared._

 

Hiro closed his eyes then, trying to push the memory away. 

 

_But why did it have to be you?_

 

He huffed, small shudders running up and down his body as he recalled the heat of the flames lapping at his skin.

 

He could recall feeling the slight shake of Tadashi’s body through the iron grip he held on his brother’s wrist. His scared eyes hadn’t been enough to convey his desperate plea for Tadashi to _staypleasejustpleasestay_.

 

And maybe he should have shouted, screamed like the rush of people who had run past them.

 

In order for this to work he needs to live as someone else. Someone separate from the pain of an alternate world. 

 

_He needs be someone other than Hiro Hamada._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? Yes? No? Thoughts? Is a revision in order?
> 
> This was eight pages on my laptop by the way. I was sure this was going to be shorter but who would have thunk it. At this point I like to think Hiro can't help but associate Callaghan with all of his traumatic memories. But I felt like my portrayal of what I was trying to get across was stiff and choppy. My insomnia has been pretty bad lately for no reason at all. So my mind is having trouble processing anything. Anyone have any tips for that?
> 
> Feedback is very welcome, I'll be happy to make changes and see what I can do to fix this chapter if needed.


	10. Documenting your Findings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been roughly a week since he last saw Tadashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, long time no plot advancement. Guess who's not dead!
> 
> There has been a lot of changes in my life, and time management is one of them. Thanks for being so patient with me. This chapter is sort of a recap, sort of a plot tool. Thanks so much for the continued support, and I apologize for the wait from the bottom of my heart.

Pushing Baymax back into the room was probably the most satisfying thing he’s done as of yet.

 

Back when he had the body of a sixteen year old boy he could hardly make the robot budge an inch. But now his newfound height seemed to give him an advantage.

 

Closing the door behind him tiredly Hiro huffed, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

 

It’s been roughly a week since he last saw Tadashi.

 

Ever since he had run into Callaghan he’s been avoiding heading back to the lab. He doesn’t really think he should go back there until he can sort out his problems and come up with a solid story.

 

He knows avoiding Tadashi like this is wrong, but it's not like he has ever handled anything regarding Tadashi correctly. Besides, it's not like they promised to see each other. After he had calmed down he had convinced his brother to go back to the school and meet with the team. 

 

All they had really said to each other as they went their separate ways was a brief 'I'll see you later' that really left everything to chance. So realistically Hiro could really avoid meeting for as long as he liked. 

 

The original Tadashi would have never let him walk away like he had. 

 

But then again, he's done a lot of things that Tadashi normally wouldn't have let happen. But he chooses not to dwell on that fact too often.

 

He had spent the last few days stealing random pieces of scrap metal and parts from behind the Krei Tech office building.

 

Even though he could just as easily steal them, he was borrowing tools from the mechanical engineering labs on campus. He had modified his school ID to work as an access card so he could now move around the facilities without arising suspicion.

 

“Baymax, step inside the charging station. I think it should work now.” He ordered, leaning down and moving the small dining table aside to give the robot more space. He had been messing with the machine up until a few minutes ago while Baymax had been next door help Ms. Matsuda prepare dinner.

 

Lately the health care companion seemed to have taken a liking towards cooking. Which was fine by him as long as no one gave his robot a knife. The last thing Hiro needs is having Ms. Matsuda freak out when Baymax deflates like a balloon. 

 

Taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest Hiro watched as Baymax moved carefully, mindful of the random tools that were scattered around the room.

 

Holding his breath he waited for the robot to step onto the newly constructed station before reaching around and pressing the on button.

 

God he hopes this works.

 

He waited anxiously as the little battery lit up on Baymax’s chest, letting out a relieved breath as it began to charge up with a green flicker.

 

“Awesome.” He huffed, taking a few steps backwards and letting himself fall back onto the bed. Taking a moment to relax he ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a yawn before rubbing at his eyes.

 

Baymax surprisingly hadn’t gotten to a dangerously low point in terms of battery life, but he was getting there. Another day and the robot would have been swinging around and babbling random nonsense like a drunk man.

 

“My scans indicate that you are feeling tired.” Baymax commented from where he stood, looking over at Hiro as he moved to sit up on the bed. “May I suggest a nap?”

 

“I suggest you focus on yourself buddy. I’ve been taking too many naps this week.” Hiro sighed, stretching his arms up above his head before standing up. “You should be finished charging up in an hour or so. Normally it would take you thirty minutes but Krei Tech doesn’t seem to throw out too many spare parts.”

 

Walking over to the opposite side of the room he got down onto his knees, reaching for Takachiho’s cellphone that he had left charging on the floor.

 

Breaking into the phone had taken two days of it being connected to a password hacker that he had made.

 

The small USB type device ran random password possibilities through the phone while bypassing the five try lock system, stopping only when the device unlocked.

 

Looking over his shoulder he glanced to make sure that it was currently running on the laptop before disconnecting the phone and making his way over to continue sitting on the bed.

 

“You would charge faster if you deactivate.” Hiro said, staring at the picture of Takachiho and his dog lightly trailing his finger across the screen. “But I don’t think I can do this alone right now.”

 

He had done all he could to distract himself from ever having to go through Takachiho’s things, but now that Baymax’s charging station was done. There was really no other way to avoid it.

 

Taking a deep breath to collect himself he typed in the password his device had spit out a few hours ago. Sliding his thumb across the screen he began to swipe through the home screen.

 

The wallpaper was a picture of what he assumes is a young Takachiho and his parents, whose names he had learned from Ms. Matsuda's newspaper article. It’s sort of nice to now have a visual for them.

 

The man in the picture is what he thinks Tadashi would look like had he been older.

 

Tomeo Takachiho is a tall, thin but well built japanese man with large framed glasses and messy hair that looks strikingly like Hiro’s before he jumped dimensions. He’s wearing a dark green polo shirt and dark khaki pants. His smile is warm and proud.

 

Takachiho’s mother on the other hand is what imagines is a combination of Honey and Aunt Cass. Maemi Takachiho is a tall thin woman with dark hair that brushes against her shoulders. She’s wearing a simple soft blue dress that her beaming smile shine out all the more.

 

Letting out a sigh Hiro can’t help but feel his heart ache at the pain he knows Takachiho must have felt when he lost them. He makes a mental note to go visit their graves sometime out of respect for Takachiho if nothing else.

 

In the picture Takachiho can’t be anymore than six or seven years old. He has on a black short sleeve t-shirt with some kind of red logo on it and a simple pair of blue jeans.

 

His hair is wild and fluffy like Hiro’s had been during grade school. If a side by side picture of himself had been placed next to this one, the only real difference between them would have to be the thin grey wired glasses that Takachiho has on. Other than that the two of them are pretty much identical twins.

 

After going through Takachiho’s phone he finds out that the dog’s name was Teddy, and that the dog had been around for most of Takachiho's childhood through early middle school if the pictures are anything to go by.

 

There’s nothing very incriminating on the device aside from a few personalized apps that Takachiho had made for himself. Going through his contacts though Hiro finds the numbers for Takachiho’s lab co-workers and the personal phone number of Alistair Krei.

 

He’s gonna need to sort out that mess pretty soon.

 

But first, he needed to go through the laptop. Considering how little he had found through the phone, it could on mean that everything important and personal had to be stored on the computer.

 

“Hey, Baymax.” Hiro spoke up, checking to see how charged up the bot was. “What can you find on Maemi and Tomeo Takachiho?”

 

Baymax looked down at his stomach as his monitor lit up, on it different screens of information compiled at once. Hiro watched as the robot blinked and began to point at a different lines of text as he spoke.

 

“Tomeo Takachiho and Maemi both were raised in the rich Tokyo suburb of Yoga, City of Setagaya. Tomeo was an industrialist who attended Tesuka Advanced Science Institute in his youth. Together with Maemi he had a son named Hiro Takachiho before his death 11 years ago.”

 

“So Takachiho was seven when his parents died.” Hiro reiterated, taking a second to recap what he knew.

 

Hiro Takachiho was the only son of Maemi and Tomeo.

 

Tomeo was a genius and most likely is the reason Takachiho was the way he was. He knows Takachiho had a dog named Teddy when he was younger and he lived in Japan with his family for a brief time.

 

He was orphaned at the age of seven when his parents died during a car accident, and remained in foster care until he turned sixteen.

 

Bringing his thumb up to his mouth Hiro sighed as he bit at his nail.

 

What happened during the gap of time between his parents death to when he turned sixteen is still a mystery, but somewhere along the line he knows that Takachiho met Alistair Krei and was adopted by him.

 

From there Hiro knows that he moved into this apartment, met Ms. Matsuda, worked as an intern at Krei Tech until he turned eighteen and then enrolled as a first year student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. All while still working at Krei Tech as an employee, doing god knows what until he died, circumstances still unknown.

 

And that’s when he comes in.

 

Running his hand along the case of the phone he waited a moment to see if Baymax would continue before speaking again. “Where were they buried?”

 

“At the request of their son and with the help of Alistair Krei the two were buried in San Fransokyo.” Baymax paused, looking down at his battery life. He estimated that he had a good 30 minutes left before he was fully recharged.

 

Tilting his head to the side the health care robot paused for a minute, updating the profile of the young man sitting just a few feet away from him.

 

Hiro’s physical and mental state always seemed to change drastically lately. 

 

“Hiro.”

 

“What is it?” He huffed, pulling at his hair in irritation.

 

This was getting complicated.

 

Well no, it wasn't complicated at all. Hiro Takachiho was as good as gone.

 

There was nothing stopping him from living this new life.

 

But even so, something about that idea made him feel sick with anxiety. 

 

“Was Hiro Takachiho your friend?”

 

Hiro froze, feeling a sense of dread spike up in stomach. “Uh... yeah... In a way, I guess he was.”

 

“I am sorry for your loss.” Baymax spoke, stepping out from his station and extending his arms out as he waddled towards the genius. “Would you like compassion and physical reassurance?”

 

Hiro smiled softly, remembering the way Baymax had tried to comfort him when he had learned that Tadashi had died.

 

If there was any time to explain himself, now would be it.

 

“Ha, not right now Baymax.” Hiro patted the robot’s arms away. “I need you to restore Tadashi’s patient file.”

 

“Tadashi?” Baymax blinked, doing as he was told anyway. “Tadashi is deceased.”

 

Hiro grinned, shaking his head. “Not here.”

 

“Tadashi is here?” He questioned, blinking in what Hiro guessed was surprise.

 

“Yeah.” He breathed. “Crazy isn’t it?” Laughing to himself he reached out and poked at the healthcare robot’s balloon like skin. “He’d totally freak out if he saw you.”

 

“Tadashi Hamada file restored.” Baymax noted. “A new scan of the patient is needed.”

 

“I know.” Hiro added. “You’ll see him soon" _Never_ , Hiro's heart thumped. _He can't ever see you._ "I’m just... not ready to have that talk yet.” Running his hand along his arm he tried to brush off the feelings of panic rising from his heart. “I still need you to update some more of your files though.”

 

Baymax paused, straightening out as he pulled up a list of files onto his stomach. “All existing patient files are up-to-date.”  

 

“That’s not exactly what I meant.” Hiro stood up, reaching out and tapping on his own file. He hesitated, closing his eyes momentarily before clearing his name. Gritting his teeth as he typed fast,  not giving himself any time to think about it as he re-named his file, stepping back only to squeeze his eyes shut tightly. 

 

“File saved.” Baymax announced once Hiro stepped back. “Patient file name update, ‘Hiro Hamada’ has been changed to ‘Hiro Takachiho’.”

 

Hiro swallowed, discomfort and dread collecting in his throat as he opened his eyes, flinching as Baymax stared down at him.

 

“Is this correct?”

 

It wasn’t.

 

Baymax knew that.

 

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. Again, I'm sorry for the wait. Those of you who are returning readers I suggest you go back and re-read some of the older chapters. I've gone back and removed/edited a few things leading up to this. So not everything is the same, but most of it should be. But yeah, life has been good, many new adventures. Any feedback and comments are much appreciated, I'll do my best to respond within the next few days. Expect more updates from me now that summer has rolled around. Again, thank you so much for being patient with me.

**Author's Note:**

> Guess which idiot started a new story while still trying to write a first one. THIS IDIOT. I have code named this story L2YS for short. This one will definitely take a backseat to my first story, I am bad with multitasking. Sorry... I accept all commentary.
> 
> P.S. This first chapter was originally called. The Breakdown of things which Matter: When it first fell apart


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